Derains & Gharavi has extensive experience in the Construction industry, having been entrusted by many large construction companies with counsel mandates, or appointed as arbitrator in, commercial arbitrations related to Turnkey contracts, EPC contracts, whether ad-hoc or based on the International Federation of Consulting Engineers (“FIDIC”) or New Engineering Contracts (“NEC”) Standard Forms, Operation & Maintenance contracts, and investment arbitrations relating the same.
The below non-exhaustive examples demonstrate the firm’s extensive experience in this sector (For full list see the CVs of Yves Derains and Hamid Gharavi):
- Successfully represented as lead counsel a European consortium in an USD 1 billion ICC arbitration against a Latin-American public entity in relation to the construction of a dam (ICC Case No. 11841/GKA/CCO/JRF/CA/ASM/JPA);
- Successfully represented as lead counsel an Omani construction company against the Republic of Yemen in an ICSID arbitration (Desert Line Projects LLC v. Republic of Yemen, ICSID Case No. ARB/05/17) for governmental interference, expropriation and denial of justice with respect to an investment in the construction industry;
- Successfully represented as lead counsel an Omani company in two separate ICC arbitrations seated in Muscat under Omani law against Oman in a dispute arising out of a road construction contract and an airport expansion contract (ICC Cases Nos. 20441 and 20442);
- Successfully secured a favorable settlement for an Italian construction company against the UAE and Qatar in relation to various construction projects in the region;
- Successfully represented as lead counsel a North-African construction company in a USD 940 million UNCITRAL arbitration initiated under the OIC Agreement against an African State related the construction of affordable housing units;
- Currently representing as lead counsel an Italian company specialized in machinery and plants for the production of wood-based products in an NAI arbitration seated in Amsterdam against a Dutch company arising out of a contract regarding the provision of engineering services concerning a “green” power plant (NAI Case No. 5190);
- President of the Tribunal in a DIAC arbitration between two Emirati companies in relation to a major construction project in Dubailand (DIAC Case No. 65/2008) [Hamid Gharavi];
- President of the Tribunal in an ICC arbitration between a Spanish company, two Mexican companies and one Colombian company in relation to the extension of an installation of port facility (ICC Case No. 21102) [Yves Derains];
- President of the Tribunal in a SIAC arbitration between two non-European companies regarding the alleged wrongful termination of a construction contract in relation to a water supply and sewer project in Georgia (SIAC Case No. ARB244/22/VKH) [Hamid Gharavi];
- President of the Tribunal in an ad hoc arbitration between a French port authority, a construction company and the company in charge of port management in relation to a contract for the construction of a port extension [Yves Derains];
- President of the Tribunal in a DIAC arbitration between two companies regarding a construction dispute in relation to energy substations works and the consequent prolongation costs in UAE (DIAC Case No. 25/2008) [Hamid Gharavi]; and
- President of the Dispute Adjudication Board in a dispute between a French port authority, a construction company and the company in charge of port management in relation to a contract for the construction of a port extension [Yves Derains].