Leighton Holdings Loses $5.5 Billion Contract in India

Bloomberg reported today that Australia’s Leighton Holdings Ltd. (ASX:LEI) lost a contract with Indian power producer NTPC Ltd. (NSE:NTPC) on May 8 in the midst of protests from local residents near the Pakri Barwadih site. Furthermore, Bloomberg reported that Raman Srikanth, CEO of Leighton’s Thiess Minec venture, was arrested on May 9 over a dispute with Roshni Developers Pvt.

As quoted in the publication:

Thiess “will initiate legal proceedings” to recover A$18.5 million ($17 million) in bank guarantees relating to the project that have been called in by NTPC, Australia’s largest builder said in the statement. “It is Thiess Minecs’ position that the action taken by NTPC is in breach of contract.” NTPC canceled the contract after Thiess Minecs missed timelines for developing the mine, the New Delhi power generator said in a statement today. The contract to develop the mine was for 360 days that ended Nov. 25, 2011, and was extended twice for a total of 1,170 days, according to the statement.

Click here to read the full Bloomberg article.