Hiiraan Online
Friday February 23, 2018
FILE PHOTO
Dubai (HOL) - DP World has accused the government of Djibouti of illegally seizing control of the Doraleh Container Terminal hours after the Djibouti government said it was terminating the concession with DP World.
“The Government of Djibouti today illegally seized control of the Doraleh Container Terminal,” DP World said in a statement.
Djibouti and DP World went into a joint venture in 2008 after agreeing to a 30-year concession deal in 2006.
The deal came to a sudden end on Thursday when the government of Djibouti terminated their contract with the Dubai-based port operator.
“The Republic of Djibouti has decided to proceed with the unilateral termination with immediate effect of the concession contract awarded to DP World,” said the office of president Ismail Omar Guelleh in a statement.
The statement goes on to say that the seizure of the port was "particularly oppressive and cynical"
"We consider the law, the attempt of the government to enforce its terms, the purported termination and expropriation to be in breach of the government's obligations under its agreements with us, in force since 2004, and international law. Moreover, the government's conduct is particularly oppressive and cynical."
An international arbitration court in London ruled in favour of DP world in a 2014 lawsuit launched by Djibouti.