Chinese firm Zhongshan Fucheng Industrial Investment Co. Ltd. has released one of the three Nigerian Airbus A330 aircraft that were detained in France following a court order from a Paris judicial court.
The Punch reported that the firm had seized a Dassault Falcon 7X, a Boeing 737-7N6/BBJ, and an Airbus A330-243 belonging to the Nigerian federal government, which were stationed at Paris-Le Bourget and Basel-Mulhouse airports.
737, and an Airbus 330 located at Basel-Mulhouse airport in Switzerland had been grounded as part of the enforcement of a $74.5 million arbitration award in favour of Zhongshan according Premium Times.
According to sources, these aircraft were undergoing maintenance when the order for their seizure occurred.
The Nigerian government reportedly paid over $100 million for the Airbus A330, which has not yet been delivered to the country.
The seizure stems from a 2016 dispute when the Ogun State government revoked Zhongshan’s contract to manage an export processing zone.
Following the termination, Zhongshan initiated an investment treaty arbitration against Nigeria, citing the bilateral investment treaty between China and Nigeria.