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Business / Qatar Business

Lindner Depa Interiors rebuts Qatar Airways claim

Published: 30 Dec 2012 - 11:34 pm | Last Updated: 05 Feb 2022 - 06:40 pm

 

DOHA: Lindner Depa Interiors (LDI) has rebutted Qatar Airways’ claim that it is responsible for major delays to the opening of the New Doha International Airport (NDIA) project as per the project schedule.

The German-Dubai joint venture construction company accused Qatar Airways of making a “false and misleading representation of the facts”. LDI said it was “deeply disappointed” by the allegations made by Qatar Airways and rebutted all claims, according to the Arabian Business.  

Qatar Airways said on Saturday it was filing a $600m legal claim against LDI for causing a significant delay to the opening of the New Doha International Airport by up to a year.

But in a statement, LDI said it has never had a contract or relationship with Qatar Airways, nor has it received any legal claim from the airline.

“LDI was denied full access to the project site for the first nine months of the 16-month project. This delay, combined with NDIA’s refusal to pay acceleration costs recommended by its own management consultancy, meant LDI was unable to start all interior contracting work on site as planned. As a result, LDI was unable to meet its original contract completion date,” the business news portal quoted LDI as saying. 

LDI, which is a joint-venture between German-based Lindner group and UAE-based Depa, said it is seeking legal counsel “as a result of the damage caused to its reputation based on the false and misleading information made in the Qatar Airways statement”. 

Qatar Airways said on Saturday that LDI had undertaken to complete the construction of 19 airport lounges by the summer of 2012 in a contract worth over $250m, but had failed to complete the project on time. The $15.5bn airport was due to have opened this month but has now been put back to the second half of 2013.

The Peninsula