Even as the Delhi Airport Metro Express Private limited (DAMEPl) terminated contract with the Delhi Metro for operating the Airport Express Metro, it has demanded a sum of Rs 2,800 crore from Delhi Metro towards ‘termination payment’.
The erstwhile operator on Monday said as per the terms of the Concession Agreement, DMRC is now liable to pay DAMEPl a ‘Termination Payment’, full debt and 130 per cent equity, which amounts to Rs 2,800 crore. It claimed that the termination arose owing to DMRC’s event of default, and the matter has been referred to arbitration, in accordance with the dispute resolution mechanism specified in the Agreement.
The DAMEPl authorities on Monday said that DAMEPl, a Special Purpose Vehicle of Reliance Infrastructure ltd. (RInfra), had terminated the Concession Agreement with the Delhi Metro Railway Corporation (DMRC) for the Delhi Airport Metro line nearly nine months back, by issuing a notification on October 8, 2012. The termination clause had to be invoked by DAMEPl, as DMRC had persistently failed to repair the defects in the civil structure designed and built by DMRC. Despite the lapse of nine months and repeated requests by DAMEPl, DMRC failed to make alternate arrangements for taking over the operations of the metro line, even after the termination of the Concession Agreement in October 2012.
However, Delhi Metro authorities refused to comment on the issues, saying the matter is subjudice and arbitration proceedings are going on. According to them a notice issued by DAMEPl to the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) for termination of the agreements is in violation of the concessionaire agreement and the on going arbitration proceedings between the two organizations. However, the DMRC is operating the Metro Express line in public interest with effect from 1stJuly, 2013 to ensure that the public is not inconvenienced.