November 11, (THEWILL) – Three bidders in the airport concession process: TAV Consortium, GMR Consortium, and Airport De Paris (ADP) have been accused by a law firm of violating the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (Est.) Act 2005 and The National Policy on Public-Private Partnership (N4P).
The law firm, Falana and Falana’s Chambers has written a petition to the Minister of Aviation and the director-general, Infrastructure, Concession and Regulatory Commission (ICRC) to disqualify the three bidders for the concession of the four major airports in the country.
The petition was signed by Mr. Femi Falana (SAN), dated November 3, 2021, and titled, “Request To Disqualify TAV Consortium, GMR Consortium, and ADP”.
The letter, which was made available to THEWILL on Thursday, stated that “Our attention has been drawn to the public notice published by the Ministry of Aviation sometime in August 2021 wherein Requests for Qualification (RFO) were invited for the Concession of four Airport Terminals in Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, and Kano in accordance with the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (Est.) Act 2005 and The National Policy on Public-Private Partnership (N4P).”
The petitioner said they have confirmed that two consortia owned by ADP submitted an expression of interest and that, the first consortium led by TAV Airport Holding, ADP owns 49% and the Second submission done by GMR Airports Limited, ADP owns 46%.
“It is pertinent to note that it is expressly stated in Section 2.2 of the RFQ that no applicant single or a consortium can be part of more than one bid. Section 2.2.3 is further clarifying that the eligibility shall apply to an applicant and/or to the parties consisting of the applicant i.e shareholders”.
According to the petition, having contravened the Requests for Qualification (RFO) without any legal basis whatsoever, the TAV-led consortium and the GMR submission, as well as ADP as a standalone party, should be disqualified from participation in the tender or joining any group in the future after Pre Qualifications results are announced.
“It is hoped that you will accede to our request to avoid any litigation over the proposed concession of the four airports terminals,” the letter added.
Anthony Awunor, is a business correspondent who holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Linguistics (UNILAG). He is also an alumnus of the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), Zaria Kaduna State. He lives in Lagos.
