Reliance Infrastructure: Proceeds from arbitral award in favour of DAMEPL to be utilised for debt reduction

Reliance Infrastructure (RInfra) on Thursday said the Supreme Court upheld the arbitral award in favour of the company's subsidiary DAMEPL and that the proceeds from it will be utilised for debt reduction. In a statement, Reliance Infrastructure said that Delhi Metro Rail Corporation is directed to pay damages of Rs 2,950 crore as well as interest up to the date of payment to Delhi Airport Metro Express Private Limited (DAMEPL).
"The Supreme Court upheld the arbitral award in favour of Reliance Infrastructure Limited's subsidiary DAMEPL... The proceeds from the arbitral award to be utilised for debt reduction," it said.

In a major relief to the Anil Ambani group, the Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the 2017 arbitration award worth around Rs 4,600 crore in favour of DAMEPL, enforceable against Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, saying there is disturbing tendency of courts setting aside arbitral awards.

The top court quashed the Delhi High Court order that had set aside the arbitration award in favour of DAMEPL which had pulled out from running the Airport Express metro line over safety issues.

The arbitral tribunal in its May 2017 award had accepted DAMEPL's claim that the running of operations on the line was not viable due to structural defects in the viaduct through which the train would run.

The Airport Express line was commissioned on February 23, 2011, after an investment of over Rs 2,885 crore, funded by the DAMEPL's promoters' fund, banks and financial institutions.