Mumbai cancels duty free operators` contract

New Delhi: Duty-free operations in Delhi and Mumbai appear to be in disarray with contractors in both airports accusing the joint venture airport developers of overcharging them.
Meanwhile, after a spate of arguments, Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL), a consortium of India’s GVK Airports Company and the Airports Authority of India (AAI), terminated the contract with ITDC/Aldeasa yesterday.
ITDC/Aldeasa, a joint venture between state-owned Indian Tourism Development Corporation and Spanish company Aldeasa, had bagged the contract for duty-free operations at Mumbai airport for Rs 571 crore in February.
Operations were to start in June. Instead, two weeks ago, Aldeasa wrote to MIAL saying that the contract value should be reduced to Rs 250 crore.The latest contract bid was almost eight times ITDC’s previous duty-free contract with the Mumbai airport authorities.
ITDC/Aldeasa said that going by the infrastructural constraints they would not be able to break even before two years.
The sources said MIAL refused to concede on the grounds that reducing the contract value would make several other players who had bid eligible for the contract.
24/11/07 Anirban Chowdhury/Business Standard

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Categories: Airports Nov 2007, Foreign Nov 2007