As explained, the move was made to protect the fundamental interests of the nation and the legitimate interests of its partners, and to ensure that the situation of DP World-controlled DCT company, which is no longer in charge of the Doraleh container terminal since the contract termination, “aligns with reality”.
In February 2018, the Government of Djibouti terminated the concession for the Doraleh container terminal, granted in 2006 to DCT. The implementation of this concession contract was severely prejudicial to the fundamental interests of the Republic of Djibouti, to the development of the country and to the control of its most strategic infrastructure asset.
Taking into account the early termination of the concession contract, PDSA, which is the majority shareholder in DCT with 66,66%, terminated the shareholders agreement entered into with DP World in July 2018.
In early September, DP World informed that the High Court of England and Wales had granted an injunction restraining Djibouti’s port company PDSA from treating its joint venture agreement with DP World as terminated and prohibited PDSA from dismissing the directors of DCT.
The Republic of Djibouti said that the decision of the English Court “is merely a provisional measure which is neither final nor res judicata and is therefore not conclusive.”
As part of the move to nationalize the shares and corporate rights of PDSA in DCT, the representatives of the state in the governing bodies of the company will be appointed by decree. DP World will therefore have the State of Djibouti as a single interlocutor for all the discussions regarding the consequences of the concession contract termination.
PDSA, for its part, intends to assert its rights before the competent jurisdictions and will demonstrate that the decision to terminate the shareholders’ agreement taken before the nationalization of its shareholding was legitimate and justified in law and in fact, the Government of Djibouti explained.
吉布提共和國決定立即將Diraleh集裝箱碼頭（DCT）公司所有的Port de Djibouti SA（PDSA）股份和公司權利國有化。
如上所述，此舉是為了保護國家的根本利益和合作夥伴的合法利益，並確保DP世界控制的DCT公司的情況，該公司不再負責Doraleh集裝箱碼頭，因為合同終止，“與現實保持一致”。
2018年2月，吉布提政府終止了2006年授予DCT的Doraleh集裝箱碼頭的特許權。這項特許權合同的實施嚴重損害了吉布提共和國的根本利益，對該國的發展和對其最具戰略性的基礎設施資產的控制。
考慮到特許權合同提前終止，PDSA（DCT的大股東持有66,66％）終止了與DP World於2018年7月簽訂的股東協議。
9月初，DP World通知說，英格蘭和Wales高等法院已經批准了一項禁令，禁止吉布提的港口公司PDSA將其與DP World的合資協議視為終止，並以防PDSA解僱DCT的董事。
吉布提共和國表示，英國法院的裁決“僅僅是一項臨時措施，既不是最終措施，也不是既定判決，因此也不具有決定性。”
作為將DCT的股份和公司權利國有化的一部分，國家在公司理事機構中的代表將通過法令任命。因此，DP World將使吉布提國成為關於特許權合同終止後果的所有討論的單一對話者。
就其本身而言，PDSA打算在主管司法管轄區之前維護其權利，並將證明在其股權國有化之前終止股東協議的決定是合法的，並且在法律上是合理的，事實上，吉布提政府解釋說。
Information source: World Maritime News Staff; Image Courtesy: Djibouti
