(1) The amount of compensation payable in respect of any fire-fighting property acquired under this Act shall be the market value of such property on the date of issue of the notice referred to in section 16, that is, the price which it would have fetched in the open market if it had been sold on that date.
(2) The amount of compensation shall be determined in the manner and in accordance with the principles hereinafter set out, that is to say,––
(a) where the amount of compensation can be fixed by agreement, it shall be paid in accordance with such agreement ;
(b) where no such agreement can be reached, the Government shall appoint as arbitrator a person who is, or has been, or is qualified for appointment as, a Judge of the High Court ;
(c) the Government may in any particular case nominate a person having expert knowledge as to the nature of the property acquired to assist the arbitrator and where such nomination is made, the local authority concerned may also nominate an assessor for the same purpose ;
(d) at the commencement of the proceedings before the arbitrator, the Government and the local authority shall State what in their respective opinion is a fair amount of compensation ;
(e) the arbitrator shall, after hearing the dispute make an award determining the amount of compensation which appears to him to be just; and in making the award he shall have regard to the circumstances of each case and the provisions of this section ;
(f) noting in [the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (26 of 1996)], shall apply to arbitrations under this section.