Colombo Airport Duty Free Tender imminent…..

Saturday, 13 June 2015

With the end of the current 5 year terms of both World Duty Free Group (WDF) and Flemingo at the Bandaranayake International Airport in June 2016, Airport and Aviation is expected to announce the new tender for the Supply and Operation of the Duty Free Shops at the Colombo Airport shortly. As per regular procedures an evaluation period of 3-4months is required for the selection and award of this lucrative business. The tender is usually published approximately 9 months prior to the evaluation.

The Colombo Airport currently handles over 7m passengers annually. Current duty free sales for the airport is estimated at between USD70–80 million annually (over 1 billion rupees per year), shared between the two main players WDF and Flemingo.

Recent rumours indicate both incumbents WDF and Flemingo, are lobbying hard at the highest levels to extend their current terms by an additional 5 years, without tender. It is expected that the Good Governance practices of the current government, won’t allow for any violations of irregularities of the required tender procedures.