Govt. awards long-awaited duty free tender

• Flemingo Duty Free gets best space with 40% revenue share to Govt. 

The Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation has successfully concluded the Core Category Duty Free tender for the Bandaranaike International Airport, which has been awarded to Flemingo Duty Free at 40% revenue share, the company said in a statement yesterday.   

The Core Category Duty Free contract was tendered for the first time since its inception. The tender was for two spaces, one being occupied by the World Duty Free (WDF) Group and the second by Flemingo Duty Free. 

The tender was keenly contested by renowned international bidders including incumbents WDF Group, a Dufry company at 36%, B&S from the Netherlands at 35%, Shilla from Korea at 34% and Aer Rianta at 28%.   

The Sri Lanka Government has achieved considerable success in this tender process as their revenue share has increased from more than $ 22,000,000 to almost $ 40,000,000, an 80% increase in revenue compared to the increase in traffic of just 14%, the statement said. 

Reportedly as the No. 2 and No. 3 bidders did not qualify due to technical issues, in order to ensure that the airport maximises revenue Cabinet has decided to retender the second space. 

“The World Duty Free Group has been operating the Core Category duty free shops at the Bandaranaike International Airport for the last 20 years. The WDF Group employs around 300 employees who stand a   very good chance of getting back into the airport as soon as possible. The Ministry of Transport and Aviation has already published the tender for the second space and the date of submission is 19 April, hence the WDF Group has a great opportunity to come back to the airport in the second tender,” the statement said.  

The Bandaranaike International Airport handled 9.47 million international passengers in 2016, with passenger traffic growing by 14% for 2016. The new airport terminal is due to be operational by 2020.