Moldova wins legal battle over Chișinău airport concession
Moldova has secured a new victory in the international litigation over the concession of Chișinău International Airport, after the Svea Court of Appeal in Stockholm rejected, on February 14, the claim brought by Komaksavia Airport Invest Ltd (Cyprus) against the Moldovan state.
According to the Ministry of Justice, the Swedish court's decision reaffirms the ruling made by the Arbitration Tribunal of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce on August 3, 2022, which found that Komaksavia had failed to make a protected investment as outlined in the Agreement on the Promotion and Reciprocal Protection of Investments between Moldova and Cyprus.
The arbitration tribunal correctly applied international standards for investment protection. As a result, the Svea Court of Appeal fully endorsed Moldova’s position and ordered Komaksavia to pay 105,000 euros and 10,000 dollars, plus interest, covering the legal costs incurred by the Moldovan state.
The lawsuit was filed by Komaksavia Airport Invest Ltd in May 2020, with the company alleging that the Moldovan state had unlawfully and discriminatorily interfered with its investment in Avia Invest SRL, the former concessionaire of Chișinău International Airport. In August 2022, the Stockholm Arbitration Tribunal dismissed Komaksavia's claim, concluding that no protected investment existed under international agreements.
In 2019, a parliamentary commission investigated the airport’s concession and concluded that the selection process had been flawed, with Avia Invest allegedly being indirectly managed by fugitive oligarch Ilan Șor. The government accused the concessionaire of failing to invest the promised amounts in the airport's development, and a court ruling annulled the concession contract.
In July 2020, the State Property Agency terminated the concession contract, citing Avia Invest's failure to invest the promised 66 million euros in the development of Chișinău Airport. On the other hand, Avia Invest accused Moldova of pressure and appealed to the Stockholm Arbitration Court. The company demanded that the Moldovan authorities either honor the concession contract or return 883 million euros. In August 2022, the arbitration rejected Avia Invest's claim.
According to the Minister of Justice at the time, Sergiu Litvinenco, the arbitration confirmed that Avia Invest had not made the necessary investments in the airport's development. In November of the previous year, the Chișinău Court of Appeal upheld the decision to terminate the concession contract. As a result, the authorities announced that Chișinău International Airport was now under state management.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
