Canadian group SMI calls on Air Algerie to pay 20 million euros

Canadian construction group SMI resorted to international arbitration at Paris’ International Commerce Chamber to call on national airline Air Algerie to pay 20 million euros for delay in payment and replacing its new headquarters construction plans by “fake” designs, Echorouk has learnt.

The dispute between the Canadian firm and Air Algerie is due to a number of errors in the project.

Works were launched in 2011 while construction permit was delivered in 2008 and it stipulates that construction validity is dropped if works are not achieved within two years after the permit delivery.

Related documents show that a Lebanese research department conducted a study to construct a five-star-hotel which was turned into Air Algerie’s headquarters.

Instructions given by the Civil Protection were not respected in the project including air ducts. Article No 12 of the permit says “the building should be in conformity with design and precautions approved by urbanization director.” Yet, Air Algerie and the Lebanese research department made changes to the designs without presenting the banned plans.

Those changes have cost 100 million DZ so far. According to experts, final costs will be more than 700 million DZ equal to 7 million euros.

The project is supposed to be delivered late in June.

Air Algerie signed a second contract with the research department to extend construction deadline and raise money amount allocated for the project to 238 million DZ from 180 million DZ.