Two of the eleven Dholera awards have gone wrong, and both are on the public record. DICDL cancelled the water treatment plant contract with SPML Infra Limited on 2021-01-01 for not meeting the terms, and the two sides are still in arbitration, which is a private legal process used instead of going to court.
The other is the ABCD Building, where Cube Construction Engineering Limited has raised five claims against DICDL. Those sit in the accounts as contingent liabilities, meaning money the company might have to pay if the claims succeed, measured as at 2025-03-31.
Both disputes, side by side
Dholera contracts in dispute or terminated. Source: DICDL annual reports FY2024-25 and FY2023-24, notes to the financial statements
| No.Item | Contract | Firm | Nature of the dispute | Date on recordISO | Contract valueINR crore | State |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Water Treatment Plant | SPML Infra Limited | Contract terminated by DICDL for non-fulfilment of terms | 2021-01-01 | no contract value published | TERMINATED |
| 02 | ABCD Building | Cube Construction Engineering Limited | Contractor has raised five claims against DICDL | not published | 72.31 | IN DISPUTE |
Source: DICDL 9th Annual Report 2024-25 (audited, signed 2025-08-22), page 100; corroborated for the SPML termination by DICDL 8th Annual Report 2023-24 (audited, signed 2024-09-09), page 104. All rows last verified 2026-08-04 against the cited page.
The cancelled water treatment plant
SPML Infra Limited, terminated 2021-01-01, still in arbitration
A. The Company had awarded contract for Design, Construction, Operation and Maintenance of Water Treatment Plant (WTP) in Dholera Special Investment Region to M/s. SPML Infra Limited (SPML). The contract was terminated by the Company on January 01, 2021 on account of non- fulfilment of terms and conditions of the contract. Following steps have been taken by the Company on termination of the contract: 1) The Company has encashed p
Quoted from DICDL 9th Annual Report 2024-25 (audited, signed 2025-08-22), page 100. The same note appears in DICDL 8th Annual Report 2023-24 (audited, signed 2024-09-09), page 104. Tag: OFFICIAL.
After termination DICDL encashed a performance bank guarantee of Rs. 675 lakh and a mobilisation advance guarantee of Rs. 990 lakh, and forfeited retention money of Rs. 206.43 lakh. SPML invoked arbitration claiming Rs. 7,752.00 lakh and filed a case before the Commercial Court at Ahmedabad. DICDL filed a counter arbitration claim printed in the report as 2,22,723.22 lakh. Proceedings were in progress at the balance sheet date.
No contract value for this work is disclosed in either annual report. The figure has not been back solved from the guarantee amounts, because a guarantee is a percentage of a contract sum that the report never states, and inventing the multiplier would be inventing the number.
The five claims on the ABCD Building
Cube Construction Engineering Limited, five claims against DICDL
B. The Company had awarded contract for Design and Construction of Administration and Business Centre of Dholera (ABCD) Building in DSIR, Dholera on EPC Basis to M/s. Cube Construction Engineering Limited (CCEL) with contract amount of 72,31,11,111/-. CCEL has raised following claims: Claim No. 01 :- Cost Incurred as Result to Build Up Area Being More Than Contract (Cost Amount: Rs. 20,16,11,451/-) Claim No. 02 :- Cos
Quoted from DICDL 9th Annual Report 2024-25 (audited, signed 2025-08-22), page 100. Tag: OFFICIAL. The quotation is truncated where the extraction truncated it.
The five claims are recorded as built up area in excess of the contract, a steel price difference and escalation, extra foundation cost, outstanding maintenance bills, and bank guarantee extension charges. The first claim alone is printed at Rs. 20,16,11,451 against a contract amount of Rs. 72,31,11,111. The remaining four claim amounts fall outside the quoted extract and are not reproduced here, because a partial figure presented as a total would be worse than no figure.
This is the only record in the register where the source calls the rupee figure a contract amount rather than a project cost, which is why it is the only one where a claim can be read against a contract price at all.
Money that actually moved
Guarantees encashed, money forfeited and claims filed. Source: DICDL annual reports, notes to the financial statements
| No.Item | Item | AmountINR lakh | Unit | Against | Source page |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Performance bank guarantee encashed by DICDL | 675.00 | INR lakh | SPML Infra, water treatment plant | AR 2024-25 p.100 |
| 02 | Mobilisation advance bank guarantee encashed | 990.00 | INR lakh | SPML Infra, water treatment plant | AR 2024-25 p.100 |
| 03 | Retention money forfeited | 206.43 | INR lakh | SPML Infra, water treatment plant | AR 2024-25 p.100 |
| 04 | Arbitration claim raised by the contractor | 7,752.00 | INR lakh | SPML Infra against DICDL | AR 2023-24 p.104 |
| 05 | Counter arbitration claim filed by DICDL | 2,22,723.22 | INR lakh, as printed | DICDL against SPML Infra | AR 2024-25 p.100 |
| 06 | Penalties recovered from contractors in the year | 17.69 | INR lakh | All contractors, FY2024-25 | AR 2024-25 p.92, note 22 |
Source: DICDL 9th Annual Report 2024-25 (audited, signed 2025-08-22) page 100 and page 92; DICDL 8th Annual Report 2023-24 (audited, signed 2024-09-09) page 104. Unit: INR lakh as printed. All rows last verified 2026-08-04 against the cited page.
The counter claim is reproduced with the digit grouping the report uses. Nothing on this sheet is netted off against anything else, because the report does not net them and the outcome of the arbitration is not known.