Duty-free giant King Power yesterday won the bidding to run duty-free shops in three regional airports, marking another victory for the firm which previously swept two licences to operate duty-free shops and the commercial zone at the country's main gateway, Suvarnabhumi Airport.
Airports of Thailand Plc (AoT) yesterday unsealed bid envelopes for the duty-free operation at airports in Phuket, Chiang Mai and Hat Yai.
The bidders were; King Power Duty Free Co; a consortium led by Bangkok Airways (BA) Plc; and a Royal Orchid Hotel (Thailand) Plc (ROH) venture.
The duty-free concession spans 10 years, starting in September next year.
King Power received a rating of 96 (out of 100) for its bid, which was based on a number of criteria. It was trailed by the ROH-led consortium which gained 86 points and the BA-led venture on 84.
Vitavas Vibhagool, managing director of ROH, said he was disappointed with the bid result and regretted that the venture has lost an opportunity to run the duty-free shops.
He said his company had set a target of working with a global partner to export Thai goods.
"Whether scores were allocated transparently, I cannot answer," said Mr Vitavas, adding that AoT allows the bidders who may have questions about the scores to write to the state enterprise to seek an explanation.
Mr Vitavas said his company is still interested in taking part in the bid to run duty-free shops at Don Mueang airport. The current concession is due to expire in September of 2022.
It is also keen on joining the bid to operate a duty-free pickup counter service at Suvarnabhumi, Don Mueang and Phuket airports.
Wichai Bunyu, senior executive vice-president of AoT, said the results of the three bids to run the duty-free shops in three regional airports will be submitted to the committee in charge of revenue assessment tomorrow before being forwarded to the AoT board for consideration on June 19.
He insisted the selection of the bid winners complies with the criteria stipulated in the bidding terms of reference, adding that a weighting of 80 of the score pertains to technical aspects and the remaining 20 involves the proposed financial returns on the investment.
"As for the bidding for the three contracts, King Power offered AoT the highest returns, which were beyond expectation," Mr Wichai said.
The company's proposals also comply with AoT's marketing plans and are feasible, he said, insisting the bidding was in line with international standards.
The duty-free operation at Suvarnabhumi airport reportedly rakes in 33 billion baht per year while the commercial zone operation at the airport generates average income of 5 billion baht every year.
Duty-free operations at the regional airports reportedly generate revenue of 5.5 billion baht a year.
