Mumbai cancels Aldeasa-ITDC contract, say reports

Gavin Lipsith

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Local reports suggest the airport may already have cancelled the contract after the partners sought to re-value the contract

Mumbai International airport (MIAL) will, or already has, terminated Aldeasa-ITDC’s recently awarded duty-free contract at the airport, according to several reports in the Indian press. Reports all suggest that Aldeasa-ITDC was attempting to renegotiate the concession terms and that MIAL may now award the contract to one of the four other companies shortlisted in the original tender—DFS Group, Nuance-Shoppers’ Stop, Alpha-Future Group and Dufry-InterGlobe—although the reports differ as to whether Aldeasa-ITDC’s contract has already been cancelled, or will be imminently.

Aldeasa-ITDC was awarded the three-year contract in February—although RavenFox.com understands that DFS Group was originally offered the contract but turned it down as too expensive. But after several months Aldeasa and ITDC have made little progress on agreeing the terms of the joint venture or on opening stores at Mumbai, and now DFS is among the favourites to gain the contract if it is re-awarded.

The joint venture was due to open its first shops at Mumbai— a 1,355sq m (14,580sq ft) departures store and a 700sq m (7,530sq ft) arrivals store—on June 1. It now has under two and a half years on its concession there, and any new concession granted to another operator will probably be extended to at least three years.

MIAL comprises a consortium led by Indian construction company GVK, holding a 74% share in the airport, and Airports Authority of India, which holds the remainder.