FRIDAY, March 29, 2024
nationthailand

Three bidders vie for duty-free, commercial areas at regional airports

Three bidders vie for duty-free, commercial areas at regional airports

KING POWER Duty Free Co Ltd, Bangkok Airways Plc and Royal Orchid Sheraton (Thailand) Co Ltd yesterday submitted their bids as they compete to win Airports of Thailand (AOT) contracts to run duty-free shops and commercial areas at three regional airports – Phuket, Chiang Mai and Hat Yai.

AOT executive vice president Wichai Bunyu said AOT had approved the three contenders’ qualifications after inspection.
A fourth potential bidder, Central Department Store Co Ltd (and DFS Venture of Singapore), that had previously purchased the bidding envelope, did not submit a bid. 
“The next step is to get their technical proposals on June 5 and their proposed financial returns on June 10. Then, the selection committee will come to a conclusion about which will be forwarded to a committee that will review income together with the duty-free shop project and the commercial areas at Suvarnabhumi Airport on June 12,” Wichai said. AOT has scheduled 3pm on June 5 for presentations of the technical proposals.
The bidding result will be proposed to the AOT board on June 19.
Wichai declined to elaborate on the bidding, saying only that all projects details would be disclosed publicly after the board meeting on June 19.
King Power Duty Free scored the highest in its bids for the duty-free shop project at Suvarnabhumi Airport.
Vitavas Vibhagool, chief executive officer of Grande Asset Hotels and Property Plc and a representative of the Royal Orchid Sheraton (Thailand) bidding consortium, came in person to submit their bid. The consortium includes WDFG UK Ltd, which is No 1 in the world’s duty-free shop sector.
“We’re confident about this bidding. We will talk to our partners in detail about the AOT’s pick-up counter project, which will be launched next. We’ll participate in [bidding on] all projects,” Vitavas said.
Both King Power Duty Free and Royal Orchid Sheraton have asked AOT for detailed scores of the previous bids for the duty-free shop project at Suvarnabhumi Airport.
Of the three contenders, King Power Duty Free was the only stand-alone bidder. The other two bidders were consortiums. The first, the Bangkok Airways-Lotte Duty Free consortium, includes Bangkok Airways (49 per cent), Hotel Lotte Co Ltd (49 per cent) and Bangkok Airways Holding (2 per cent).
The third bidder, a consortium headed by Royal Orchid Sheraton (Thailand), includes Royal Orchid Sheraton (36 per cent), Empire Asia Group (15 per cent) and WDFG UK Ltd (49 per cent).
 

nationthailand