A joint venture bid of around $100m from the ITDC/Aldeasa joint venture has won the three-year Mumbai (Bombay) International Airport duty free contract, even though the closing date was originally set at March 7.

An announcement has been made by Mumbai International Airport (MIAL) that the joint venture has been chosen ahead of joint venture offers from Alpha Airports-Future Group, DFS Group, Dufry-Interglobe and Nuance-Shoppers? Stop.The new operation will be located in the international Terminal 2C with total duty free space of 24,541sq ft with 14,585sq ft at the departure level, 8,395sq ft at the arrival level and 1,560sq ft reserved for storage.
In a statement from Mumbai International Airport (MIAL) the airport authority said that Aldeasa-ITDC will be responsible for designing and building the shopping environment, sourcing a wide range of international luxury brands and developing a strong promotional strategy: ?Passengers will have access to leading international brands of liquor, premium whiskies, tobacco, cosmetics and perfumes, clothing, hi-tech electronics, boutiques, and accessories,? MIAL said.
Two bidders who were not successful both separately expressed some surprise at the early contract award considering the original March 7 closing date. Whether any of the joint ventures plan to challenge the award is as unclear as the reasoning behind MIAL?s decision to make this announcement early.
MIAL is a 74:26 per cent joint venture company between GVK-SA consortium and the Airports Authority of India. The consortium comprises GVK, Airports Company South Africa Limited and Bidvest Group Limited.