ARI prepares to re-enter Cypriot market

Print Article E-Mail Article

CYPRUS. Aer Rianta International (ARI) has formed a joint venture with CTC, owned by the Cypriot conglomerate Shakolas Group, as it prepares to re-enter the travel-retail market in Cyprus

Parent company Aer Rianta is part of the Hermes consortium,  which is close to signing a management contract to run Larnaca and Paphos airports. If Hermes is successful in its bid, Aer Rianta International-Middle East will run the airports' retail facilities in partnership with CTC. ARI previously managed stores at Cypriot airports on behalf of Cyprus Airways in the mid-1990s.

ARI director general Eamon Foley told DFNI: ?Shakolas is a very strong conglomerate and the biggest employer on the island. It owns luxury car agencies, heavy machinery franchises and holds a number of big-name retail agencies. It knows the market very well and together we have secured the right to manage commercial activities at Paphos and Larnaca once the consortium completes the build-operate-transfer (BOT) deal. Our venture with CTC is 50:50 in terms of equity, but we will take the lead on management.?

Meanwhile, staff at the duty-free shops at Larnaca and Paphos planned to demonstrate outside Cyprus's parliament building as DFNI went to press, concerned about job security after the airports are transferred. ARI was unavailable for comment.