ICC panel decides Algerian rail dispute
An Algerian state agency Anesrif has reportedly defeated the bulk of a €200 million ICC claim brought by Spanish construction group OHLA over a railway project.
In 2019 the Spanish construction group Obrascón Huarte Lain (OHL) has pursue a €140 million arbitration against Algerian state railway investments agency Anesrif over a railway project that began in 2006.
The claim relates to a contract for the construction of the Annaba railway line. OHL was part of a consortium that was awarded a €248 million contract started in 2006 to double-track a 95-kilometre railway line between Algeria’s northeastern seaport city of Annaba and the town of Ramdane Djamel. The Spanish company owned an 85% stake in the consortium, with the rest held by Algerian state-owned enterprise Infrarail.
The work was originally envisaged to be completed in 39 months but encountered repeated delays, with reports suggesting problems in expropriating the necessary land was a factor.
OHL thus wins a dispute that began in 2019, ICC arbitration against Algeria on the construction of the Annaba railway line.
