Tender documents for the now separate Bangkok Suvarnabhumi duty free contract will be issued tomorrow (1 April).

Airports of Thailand (AoT) is to issue a separate tender for the duty free concession at Bangkok Suvarnabhumi International Airport.

The recently announced duty free tender was based on a single contract covering Bangkok Suvarnabhumi, Chiang Mai, Hat Yai and Phuket Airports.

This drew strong criticism from organisations such as the Thai Retailers Association (TRA) and Thai Duty Free Shop Trade Association, which believe the master concession model is monopolistic.

The TRA, for example, favours a concession by category model such as the ones implemented at Hong Kong and Seoul Incheon International Airports.

REVIEW PROCESS

As a result of the criticism, Thai Prime Minister, Prayut Chan-o-cha, ordered a review of the bidding process and the tender itself was subsequently delayed.

King Power International has been operating at Bangkok Suvarnabhumi International under a master concession model for several years. Its contract at the airport expires on 27 September 2020.

The new contract will cover around 20,000sq m of space at BKK and include the new satellite terminal at the airport which is due to open in 2020. The agreement will run from 28 September 2020 to 31 March 2028. Tender documents will be available for purchase from 1 April to 18 April (09:00-12:00).

The deadline for submissions is 22 May and the highest bidders will be announced on 31 May. A revised duty free tender timeline for the other airports (Chiang Mai, Hat Yai and Phuket) has yet to be released.

King Power International’s contract at Bangkok Suvarnabhumi is set to expire in September 2020.

Interested parties (single entities or joint-ventures) must have operated at least 5,000sq m of retail space in Thai department stores or a minimum of 500sq m of duty free space at home or abroad for at least five years continuously.

While bidding for the BKK duty free contract takes place, there will be also be a tender for the F&B, foreign exchange and other retail at Bangkok Suvarnabhumi. The deadline for submissions is also 22 May, with the highest bidders set to be announced on 31 May.