Banumathi, J. - (1.) Arbitration Petition No.30 of 2016 has been filed by M/s Duro Felguera, S.A. under Section 11(6)(a) read with Sectiion 11(12)(a) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (for short, 'the Act') to appoint the nominee arbitrator on behalf of the respondent (second arbitrator) in terms of sub-clause 20.6 of the Special Conditions of the Contract with respect to the arbitration arising under the Contract dated 10.05.2012. T.C. No.25 of 2017, T.C. No.26 of 2017, T.C. No.27 of 2017 and T.C. No.28 of 2017 have been filed by M/s. Felguera Gruas India Private Limited (hereinafter referred to as 'the FGI') for appointment of Domestic Arbitral Tribunal for resolving the dispute pertaining to the contract awarded to FGI. Arbitration Petition No.31 of 2016 has been filed by M/s. Gangavaram Port Limited (hereinafter referred to as 'the GPL') to appoint an arbitrator under the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) dated 11.08.2012 and to constitute a single Arbitral Tribunal by a composite reference for adjudication of all the disputes between the parties in connection with the "Works" covered under all the five Package Contracts and the Corporate Guarantee dated 17.03.2012 executed by Duro Felguera.
(2.) As the parties and issues in both the arbitration petitions and the transferred cases are one and the same, both arbitration petitions and the transferred cases shall stand disposed of by this common order. For convenience, parties are referred to as per their array in Arbitration Petition No.30 of 2016.
(3.) Brief Facts: The Respondent-Gangavaram Port Limited (GPL) developed a green-field, ultra-modern, all-weather sea-port near Gangavaram Village in Visakhapatnam District in the State of Andhra Pradesh. This sea-port commenced operations in the year 2009. The Respondent intended to expand its facilities in the Port with respect to Bulk Material Handling Systems. This included Engineering, Design, Procurement of Materials, Manufacturing, Supply, Erection, Testing and Commissioning of Bulk Material Handling Systems, as well as all other associated works and integration of the same with the existing coal handling systems etc. For this purpose, on 08.08.2011, Gangavaram Port Limited invited a tender/bid. In response to the aforementioned tender dated 08.08.2011, the Spanish Company-Duro Felguera Plantas Industrials S.A. (since merged with the petitioner) along with its Indian subsidiary-M/s. Felguera Gruas India Private Limited (FGI) submitted a Single Bid/Tender-Original Package No.4 Tender Document on 15.11.2011. This included the Commercial Bid and the Technical Bid. After post-bid negotiations, the petitioner Duro Felguera and its subsidiary (FGI) were considered by GPL and Duro Felguera and FGI were selected as "the Contractors" for the work.;