The winning bidder will be expected to design and construct additional space at the Begin Land Crossing (Photo: NYC2TLV via Wikipedia).

The Israel Airports Authority has issued a public tender for the providence of storage and sale services to migrants leaving Israel, at the land border terminals of Egypt and Jordan.

According to the RFP on the Israel Airports Authority (IAA) website currently, the Begin Terminal (also referred to as the Taba Border Crossing or Menachem Begin Border Terminal) store is about 133sq m in size, and the intention is to add an additional 104.77sq m.

At the Jordan River crossing the store is considerably larger at 427.46sq m.

The Jordan River Crossing, which constitutes an international crossroad between Israel, Jordan and Syria, saw 214,325 outbound passengers in 2023, with gross sales revenue standing at $3.1m.

This is a far cry from first available figures from 2010, which saw pax of 265,899 and gross sales revenue of $6.7m.

The Begin Terminal, which is is a passageway between the State of Israel and Egypt, saw much higher outbound pax (673,049) and revenue ($8m).

The tender deadline, which covers both units, is 31 July 2024.

The operating rights of service at both border shops is currently held through the licensee J.R. Heinemann Duty Free Limited Partnership.

TRBusiness reached out to interested parties like Duty Free Americas (DFA), who simply noted they were still in the process of considering whether to apply for the tender.

The IAA also released floorplans of both retail areas, and noted interested parties were obliged to take a physical tour of each unit as part of the bidding process.

Operation of the store is set to begin in January 2025, with the contract lasting five years, though the IAA did note it could, at its discretion, extend the period of services by a maximum of 36 months.

The winning bidder will be expected to design and construct the additional space at the begin land crossing as mentioned in the RFP.

The IAA also noted that bidders must be legally registered in Israel as a corporation, and those submitting must attach to their offer a $250,000 payment as guarantee.

READ MORE: Heinemann acquires JR/Duty Free Israel; ‘End of an era’ says Lasnitzki

READ MORE: ForwardKeys releases data showing Israel-Palestine travel impact