Lukewarm response to tender at Jamaica’s second airport

Gavin Lipsith

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Kingston Norman Manley International airport will retender two duty-free contracts after a lower than expected response in initial bidding

Norman Manley International airport, Jamaica’s second international airport, will retender two duty-free opportunities after receiving what it described as a “lukewarm response” to its initial tenders covering 35 outlets. The concessions, covering 2,500sq m (26,900sq ft), are part of an $112m expansion project at the airport, with the first phase, including the airside retail development, due to be completed in October.

The two contracts, out of a total of four duty-free packages offered, will be retendered, according to the Jamaican Gleaner. In total the airport authority received only 36 proposals covering all the new commercial concessions by the June 29 deadline. The authority believed that a bid security fee, designed to prevent bidders from pulling out, and the complex bidding process may have discouraged participation.

A team of six independent evaluators will assess the bids and make a decision in time for winners to have three months to set up their shops.