Dubai, UAE; 16 September 2013: Lindner Depa Interiors (‘LDI’) today announced that it has filed a circa AED 900 million (US$ 250 million) international arbitration claim against the New Doha International Airport (‘NDIA’). Linder Depa is a joint venture company between Depa Limited, one of the world’s leading interior contracting companies, and Germany’s Lindner AG one of the world’s most experienced international airport interior contractors. The arbitration proceeding has been commenced in the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce, Paris, France.
Mohannad Sweid, Group CEO, Depa Ltd, commented:
“Our filing today should come as no surprise. We consider the termination of our contract to have been wholly unfounded and the subsequent lack of response by the New Doha International Airport has left Lindner Depa Interiors with no choice but to seek AED 900 million in compensation through international arbitration. We have spent significant time and effort over the last nine months to resolve this matter amicably with the NDIA but without success. We must protect the interests of our shareholders by seeking justice and are confident that the Tribunal will eventually find in our favour.”
The arbitration proceeding directly results from the termination of LDI’s contract with NDIA for the complete fit-out of 17 lounges at Doha’s New Hamad Airport. The contract was cancelled following the announcement on 20 June 2012 that LDI’s performance bond and advance payment guarantee were pulled due to their refusal to accept new, non-favourable contract terms and conditions. These included dropping all extension-of-time claims and related costs incurred as a result of very lengthy delays to our works caused by others and acceleration costs. As a result of these delays, LDI had not been able to start all of its interior contracting work on site as planned and consequently, would not have been able to meet its original contract completion date.
The termination of the contract and the subsequent public comments made against LDI by Mr. Akbar Al Baker, head of the NDIA steering committee and CEO of Qatar Airlines in December 2012 and April 2013 caused significant financial and reputational damage to our company.
LDI is not alone amongst international contractors that have either had contracts terminated by NDIA or who have brought claims against NDIA. Hamad International Airport has still not been officially opened.
LDI has completed many infrastructure projects including work at Terminal 3, Dubai International Airport and a large number of stations on both lines of the Dubai Metro. Lindner was founded in 1965 and has completed many high profile airport projects such as London Heathrow (Terminal 5); Hong Kong Airport; Singapore Changi Airport (Terminal 1); Shanghai Pudong Airport and Barcelona Airport (new Terminal 1). Depa has successfully executed large and complex projects in over 20 countries including Emirates Airline First and Business Class lounges at Dubai Airport, Mumbai's new international airport, Museum of Islamic Arts (Qatar), the Emirates Palace Hotel (Abu Dhabi), Grand Hyatt (Malaysia), Baku Flame (Azerbaijan) and Marina Bay Sands (Singapore).
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Enquiries
Depa Limited
Noor Sweid
Managing Director, Strategy
Tel: 971 4 224 3800
About Depa Limited
Depa Limited is a leading interior contracting company in the Middle East, North Africa and Southeast Asia regions. Operating principally in the luxury fit-out industry, its main areas of business cover luxury hotels, infrastructure and public sector amenities such as hospitals and airports, high-end residential properties, retail outlets, as well as yachts. Depa is listed on the NASDAQ Dubai (ticker DEPA) and has Global Depositary Receipts on the regulated market for listed securities of the London Stock Exchange plc (ticker DEPA and DEPS).
The range of business activities performed by Depa comprises:
� Interior contracting: which focuses on luxury interior fit-out services, which include installation and finishing of floors, walls, ceilings, fixed joinery, panelling, wood-works, doors and frames;
� Manufacturing: which comprises a network of factories and joineries which produce customized furniture, fixtures and equipment (FF&E);
� Procurement: which involves the procurement of supplies and materials from third parties to support and complement Depa's interior contracting and manufacturing operations as well as third party procurement contracts for specific FF&E projects.
By integrating these services into a single package, Depa provides clients with comprehensive and customized interior contracting solutions.
With more than 7,000 employees worldwide, the company operates through an integrated network of subsidiaries and affiliates located in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, India, Malaysia, Thailand, China, Singapore, UK, Germany, and the United States. Through this network, Depa has successfully executed large and complex projects in over 20 countries including the Emirates Palace Hotel (Abu Dhabi), Four Seasons Hotel (India), Grand Hyatt (Malaysia), Trump International Hotel (Las Vegas), Tokyo Midtown (Japan), Museum of Islamic Arts (Qatar), Baku Flame (Azerbaijan) and Marina Bay Sands (Singapore).
For more information, please refer to the corporate website: www.depa.com
