ECG Concession: Court Dumps Chinese BXC

An Accra High Court has turned down a request by a China-based company, BXC Company that it halts the ongoing Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) concession process.

High Court Judge, Justice Jerome Nkrumah, in his ruling said an irredeemable consequence will befall ECG and the State, if the court granted the injunction.

The Millennium Development Authority (MiDA) which is spearheading the concession had disqualified BXC from the bidding process earlier this year.

Justifying the disqualification, MiDA said a “potential conflicts of interests” due to the existence of prior contracts between ECG and BXC, was the reason for the move.

Unimpressed by the decision, BXC then dragged MIDA to a commercial court accusing it of acting in an arbitrary manner without basis.

BXC asked for damages of $4 million, which it claims was “money expended on preparing and submitting its bid”.

It also requested an indefinite injunction on MiDA from going ahead with the concession process.

Lawyers for MiDA opposed the application, saying that the company had not breached any rights requiring the court's intervention.

Justice Nkrumah explained that MiDA and ECG had timelines to meet in order to access funds resulting from the compact.

"What will be there to bid for if those timelines are not met,” he quizzed.

He added that the company could be compensated in monetary terms if it loses the substantive case challenging its disqualification.