APM Terminals has launched a legal challenge against the 25-year concession granted International Container Terminal Services Inc (ICTSI) to operate the container terminal at the port of Durban, South Africa.
The leading global terminal operator has argued in papers filed at a Durban High Court that ICTSI’s bid for the terminal fell short of tender requirements, as it seeks to overturn the award of the concession.
APM Terminals said ICTSI did not meet the stipulated solvency measure when it won the tender held last year by South Africa’s state-owned Transnet SOC Ltd.
“ICTSI ought to have been disqualified for failing the solvency requirement,” APM Terminals said in its filings at the court, describing the award as unlawful and invalid.
It said ICTSI fell short of a solvency requirement of 0.4. It said based on 2021 financial statements, the total equity divided by total assets of ICTSI was 0.24.
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