A consortium of Indian and Malaysian companies has won US$400mn public-private partnership project (PPP) financing from the IFC and the government of the Maldives.
The GMR-MAHB consortium, an Indian infrastructure group and a Malaysian airport operator respectively, is responsible for expanding and modernising the Maldives’ Malé international airport.
The consortium beat French-Turkish and Swiss-Indian consortiums to be picked for the task.
The project, which is set to take place incrementally over 25 years, is a key initiative for the Maldives’ high-end tourism-driven economy.
A spokesperson for the president of the Republic of Maldives comments: “Using a public-private partnership model will increase the efficiency of the airport. A highly developed airport in the Maldives would also bring benefits for other businesses in the country and will bring financial investments to the country, which would not come from the government’s already stretched resources.”
The deal was advised by John Crothers and Fabien Lanteri-Massa from legal firm Gide Loyrette Nouel’s Paris headquarters.
GTR speaks to Crothers, who serves as a partner at Gide, about selecting the right consortium for the deal: “We received bids from three very good consortiums. We were looking for two things: experience and financial capacity. There were no jurisdictional issues and that’s largely thanks to the level of quality of all the bids made. All three bidders passed the technical test; it was just a case of choosing the consortium with the best price.”
The deal was also aided by the Maldivian government, as Crothers explains: “It is fair to say that it went very smoothly. We had full cooperation from the government. The advantage of working in the Maldives is it’s a small country so it is easier to see the right people when you need to see them.”
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