Douala International Terminal welcomes ruling in its favour by ICC arbitration tribunal

November 17, 2020: Douala International Terminal (DIT), a subsidiary of the APMT and Bollore groups, welcomed the ruling handed down in its favour by the ICC arbitration tribunal.

DIT was forced to turn to the ICC arbitration tribunal under the 2004 concession agreement on the following points:

• Sharing of parking rights between the Autonomous Port of Douala (APD) and DIT
• Preventing DIT from participating in the tender procedure launched in January 2018.

On November 13, 2020, the arbitration tribunal recognised the merits of DIT's two claims. Consequently, the arbitration tribunal ordered the PAD to pay DIT in damages and to re-issue an open tender notice including DIT.

DIT welcomes these decisions in accordance with the rule of law.

The recourse to arbitration was provided for under the APD-DIT concession agreement of 2004. In accordance with the arbitration rules of the ICC, the ruling was handed down in full independence by a tribunal composed of the two parties.

DIT stresses the fact that the Cameroonian courts have already ruled on several occasions in favour of DIT’s main shareholders on the irregularity of the tender procedure for the container terminal concession and the illegality of the public company implemented by APD to operate the container terminal.

DIT and its main shareholders will continue to defend their rights relative to all the parties involved before national and international jurisdictional bodies, particularly as concerns the requisitions of its personnel and assets ordered illegally by APD at end-December 2019.