DP World has won another legal hearing against Djibouti over the Doraleh Container Terminal, with the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA) ordering the country to restore the rights and benefits under the 2006 Concession Agreement within two months.
It is the sixth ruling in favour of DP World in relation to the Doraleh Container Terminal (DCT) seizure.
In a statement, the Government of Dubai said: “DP World has won a further legal hearing against the Government of Djibouti over the Doraleh Container Terminal.
“A Tribunal of the London Court of International Arbitration ordered Djibouti to restore the rights and benefits under the 2006 Concession Agreement to DP World and Doraleh Container Terminal SA within two months, or pay damages.
“An independent expert has estimated the losses to DP World at more than USD 1 billion.
“The ruling by the Tribunal said Djibouti had acted illegally when it forcibly removed DP World from management of the terminal in February 2018, claimed it had terminated the Concession Agreement and transferred the Terminal assets to a state-owned entity.
“DP World now awaits proposals from Djibouti about how it intends to comply with the latest legal ruling.
“If Djibouti does not comply with the ruling, the Tribunal has stated it will proceed to issue an award of damages.”
Djibouti expelled DP World and took control of the DCT in February 2018, claiming the operator wasn’t using the terminal’s commercial potential.
However, DP World says the DCT is the country’s “largest employer and biggest source of revenue” and has “operated at a profit every year since it opened.”
The first LCIA judgement in August 2018 ruled Djibouti’s seizure unlawful and subsequent rulings have ordered Djibouti to pay DP World as much as £385 million.
