Zero income received from airport; MACL required to pay GMR US$3.8m

Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL) has been asked to pay airport operator GMR US$3.8 million, due to the amount deducted from the Concession Fees exceeding the Concession Fees payable by GMR to the government.

GMR is allowed to deduct Airport Development Charge (ADC) and Insurance Charge from the Concession Fees payable to the Maldivian government.

MACL was required to pay US$1.5 million to GMR last quarter as well, for the same reason.

Financial statements published today by MACL show that US$5.2 million is payable by GMR to MACL as Concession Fees for the past three months, inclusive of US$4.9 million as Fuel Concession Fees and US$277,755 as Variable Concession Fees.

The statements indicate that GMR would collect US$7.5 million by charging US$27 per departing passenger.

However, as GMR is not allowed to collect this US$27 per departing passenger, it has requested MACL to pay US$2.2 million - derived by deducting the amount it would have collected, from the Concession Fees of US$5.2 million.

In total, GMR had notified MACL to pay a US$3.7 million (MVR57.10 million) - inclusive of US$1.5 million due from the previous quarter.

GMR is not able to collect US$27 per passenger following a Civil Court Order issued earlier this year, prohibiting the company to impose this fee.

GMR has filed a case in this regard to Singapore’s Arbitration Court.

US$8.7 million was payable by GMR to the government as Concession Fees for the first quarter of this year; however, GMR deducted ADC and paid only $525,355.

GMR has been notified on several occasions, that the new Board of Directors of MACL has annulled the previous Board’s decision to allow deduction of ADC from Concession Fees payable to the government.