Delhi International Airport (P) Limited (DIAL) has issued Letter of Award to the Consortium comprising Aer Rianta International (ARI) of Ireland and Indian Duty Free Services (IDFS) to participate with DIAL in a Joint Venture Company for License to Develop, Operate, Maintain and Manage Duty-free outlets at Indira Gandhi International Airport''s upcoming Terminal 3.
Aer Rianta - the Irish travel retailer, together with its Indian partner IDFS, submitted the best bid. Aer Rianta is fully owned by Dublin Airport Authority (An Irish Government owned entity) and with over 60 years of experience, it is acknowledged and respected as one of the world''s leading airport retailing specialists, engaged in modern retail centres at major airports in Europe, Eastern Europe, North America and the Middle East. Considered among the pioneers of the airport retail business, it started retail operations at Shannon Airport in Ireland way back in 1947. It was also instrumental in setting up the Dubai Duty Free, which is now one of the largest duty free operator in the world.
This relationship would allow for a greater synergy between DIAL and ARI / IDFS as both airport operators have in depth understanding of passengers'' needs as well as the airport environment. Moreover, ARI''s has a proven track record of operating JV Duty Free concessions in European & emerging markets which have yielded good results for all stakeholders. For example, it has been successfully operating the Joint Venture Models at Moscow Airport Duty Free on a 21 years contract and at Bahrain Airport on a 16 year contract.
IDFS has established itself as a leading travel retail operator in South Asia. Since its establishment, IDFS has diversified into numerous travel retail oriented businesses which include Duty Free sales, In-flight retail, airline amenities and warehousing.
DIAL Chief Commercial Officer Gavin Mckechnie said, "We have received proposals from 5 bidders namely Aldeasa, Aer Rianta-IDFS consortium, Dufry-lnterglobe Consortium, Flemingo International and Setur. It is worth noting that, despite the economic downturn, the response to the RFP truly reflects the growth potential of the Indian economy and airport sector in particular."
Construction work is currently underway for IGI Airport''s Terminal 3 which is scheduled to be in operation before the 2010 Commonwealth Games to be held in Delhi. T3 would be among the largest passenger terminals in the world covering more than 5 million sq feet. It is would be an integrated terminal handling both domestic and international departure and arrivals. T3 is part of Phase 1 of IGI Airport''s Master Plan development having a total project outlay exceeding USD 2 billion and would increase the airport''s capacity to handle more than 60 million passengers a year.
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