Mumbai: Despite a state notification from the government of Maharashtra, the Asian Development Bank (ADB), which is funding the metro project, has finalised Singapore as the arbitration centre. As a result, the centre for international bidders will be Singapore whereas that for domestic bidders will be Mumbai.
An arbitration centre is where disputes between companies or individuals are resolved sans litigation. Mumbai got its first international arbitration centre last year, which was inaugurated by chief minister Devendra Fadnavis. The Mumbai Centre
for International Arbitration (MCIA) has been recognised as an authorised institution for arbitration and as per the institutional arbitration policy, MCIA will be approached for state government contracts worth over Rs 5 crore. Pravin Darade, additional metropolitan commissioner, MMRDA, said, “We have accepted the demand of ADB. International bidders will go to Singapore for arbitration while domestic bidders can approach the MCIA.”
Maharashtra is the first state to have an arbitration policy. It was launched to encourage ‘Make in India’, where businesses entering the country need not approach other countries for arbitration.
