New owners to tender Sharm El Sheikh airport retail

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A consortium led by Swiss-based ABB Equity Ventures and Vancouver Airport Services (YVRAS) last month was declared the winner of the build-operate-transfer (BOT) contract for a new airport terminal in the Egyptian tourist resort of Sharm El Sheikh. In a competitive three-way bid the Vancouver airport grouping was placed as the preferred bidder and final contract negotiations are ongoing. Other bidders were a consortium involving Aeroports de Paris and the local Orascom Construction Industries and another involving Copenhagen Airports and Dragados of Spain.

Total investment costs in the airport will be an estimated $170m and the management contract for the airport will have a duration of 25 years. Other companies in the winning consortium are Skanska BOT of Sweden and local engineering company Samcrete. ABB Airport Technologies will act as a sub-contractor to the consortium.

A new 66,000sq m (710,00sq ft) terminal is planned within a few months of which approximately 12% to 14% is set aside for retail according to the commercial plan outlined by YVRAS and its project team. A spokesperson said: "Currently Egyptair Tax Free Shops has the duty-free concession and there is very little other retail. We will likely tender the duty-free contract once we take over."

Last year Sharm El Sheikh airport handled 2.1m passengers, mostly European charter traffic from Italy, Netherlands, UK, Germany and from Jordan.