World Duty Free wins second tender for Core Category shop in BIA

Wednesday, 23 August 2017 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

By Chathuri Dissanayake

Cabinet yesterday decided to award the second tender for the second space allocated for a Core Category Duty Free Shop at BIA to Dufry AG, a Swiss company which earlier operated World Duty Free in Sri Lanka.

Only two bidders, Dufry AG, a Swiss company and DFS India Ltd. with B&S Holdings, tendered for shop space 2, at both the departure restricted area and arrival restricted area with 3,060 sq. ft and 2,665 sq. ft respectively. Both bidders offered a concession fee of 43%, following a clause put in the second tender stating that the fee has to be more than 40%.

World Duty...

“However, since Dufry has more capabilities experience the tender team decided to award the second space to them during the technical evaluation,” a Transport and Aviation Ministry source explained.

The tender process ran into controversy when the Government decided to retender the second shop space at both the arrival and departure lounges in BIA. This was despite a clause in the first tender announcement listing two spaces at both the departure and arrival area which said the bidder offering to pay the second-highest concession fee following technical evaluation was to be awarded the tender as per tender conditions.

Dufry AG’s subsidiary company, World Duty Free, which ran a Core Category duty free shop in space A in BIA for the last 21 years, was disqualified from the first round of bidding on technical grounds as it bid on a slab system. The company, which employs about 300 individuals, was given 14 days’ notice to move out.