This matter involves an ICSID dispute between ADP International and Vinci Airports (claimants) and the Republic of Chile, with respect to the claimants’ investment in an airport concession for the Santiago International Airport (ICSID Case No. ARB/21/40). The claimants were awarded the concession for Santiago airport in 2015 for a 20-year period. The Claimants allege that the government refused to protect the viability of the concession following the COVID-19 outbreak and seek compensation for COVID-19 related losses.

The Republic of Chile retained NERA to provide expert testimony on damages. The NERA team consisted of Senior Managing Director Richard Hern, Director Zuzana Janeckova, Senior Consultant Patricio Suarez Urtaza, and Consultant Ricardo Rodrigues. NERA was asked to present an independent assessment of damages and to respond to the opposing experts’ quantification of damages.

NERA’s assessment of damages was centered around analyzing the economic framework embedded in the airport concession contract and how it dealt with risks such as demand shocks arising from COVID-19 restrictions. NERA also analyzed changes in demand projections over time including in response to COVID-19, which were a key input for the claimants’ calculation of damages.

Dr. Hern presented NERA’s assessment of damages in two expert reports and provided oral testimony at an ICSID hearing in Washington, DC in June 2024.