Miami firms up on tender plans as Gittens quits

Gavin Lipsith

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The airport has announced details of the proposed schedule for its long-awaited tender for duty-free, with the final documents due to be published early next year

Miami International airport has released the proposed schedule for its duty-free Request for Proposals (RFP) following last month's meeting at which interested parties discussed the terms of a draft RFP and lease agreement. The new contract, to start in November next year, covers over 39,000sq ft (3,624sq m) of retail space.

According to an airport spokesperson, the final RFP will be issued on December 17, with the aim of awarding the contract by July. Following a pre-proposal meeting on January 12 next year, bidders will have to submit proposals by March 18. The spokesperson added that the airport aims to make its recommendation to the Miami-Dade County Manager by April, who would review and negotiate the proposal before passing his recommendation to the Board of County Commissioners in May.

The spokesperson did not specify which companies had attended October's meeting, but many of the trade's leading retailers have already confirmed their interest, including Dufry Group, Duty Free Americas and The Nuance Group.

In related news, Miami-Dade aviation director Angela Gittens has been forced to resign. Gittens, who moved from Atlanta Hartsfield airport in 2001, had been responsible for supervising Miami airport's capital investment programme until last month, when she was stripped of control over the project following disputes with county officials.

According to Associated Press reports, Gittens had regularly clashed with commissioners over her plans to set up an independent board to oversee contract awards during the programme. More recently she met with resistance from the county when she refused to allocate extra public funds to American Airlines for a new terminal.

Assistant county manager Carlos Bonzon will oversee day-to-day airport operations until a successor is found, although a local aviation consultant said the perception of continued political interference could make the search for a new director "excruciatingly difficult".