NEW YORK, Feb 25: The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey filed a lawsuit on Friday aimed at blocking the takeover of its Port Newark container terminal by an Arab firm.

The action came a day after the state of New Jersey filed a related lawsuit.

The Port Authority argued that the deal, under which the United Arab Emirates-owned Dubai Ports World would take over management of the container facility in New Jersey from the British company P and O, violates the terms of the latter’s lease.

The proposed $6.8-billion takeover of six US ports by Dubai Ports World has prompted an outcry among Republican and Democratic critics, who say it threatens port security.

Opponents have alleged that some of the financing for the Sept 11, 2001, attacks was funnelled through the UAE.

The Port Authority argued in its suit that it had been ‘deprived of its right to conduct a thorough review of the purchase’ and of the ‘identity, qualifications, experience and reputation of the purchasers’.—AFP