King Power wins another duty-free shop deal

Duty-free shops inside Phuket airport are operated by King Power Duty Free Co. (King Power Duty Free Co photo)

King Power Duty Free Co has won a bid to run duty-free shops at Phuket, Chiang Mai and Hat Yai airports, Airports of Thailand Plc (AoT) announced on Monday.

AoT said in a statement that the winning bidder for the operation of the three regional airports was King Power as it offered highest returns than its two rivals and also received the highest scores.

A consortium led by Bangkok Airways Plc and a venture led by Royal Orchid Hotel (Thailand) Plc also joined the contest.

Wichai Bunyu, the AoT senior executive vice-president, said the decision will be submitted to the committee in charge of revenue on Wednesday and then to the board for approval on June 19.

He said King Power offered higher returns than the airport agency had expected and the process was transparent.

King Power on May 31 won the bid to operate duty-free shop Suvarnabhumi airport for another 10 years. On the same day, it won another 10-year contract to operate the commercial zone at the airport.

Vitavas Vibhagool, managing director of Royal Orchid Hotel (Thailand) Plc, said after the bidding King Power received a score of 96 points, 10 more than his group did. The Bangkok Airways alliance scored 84, he added.

The next duty-free bid will be for Don Mueang airport after the contract expires in September 2022.