Only three bidders are now vying for the licence to run duty-free shops at three regional airports after Central Department Store (CDS) dropped out.
The three bidders are; King Power Duty Free Co; a consortium led by Bangkok Airways (BA) Plc; and a venture led by Royal Orchid Hotel (Thailand) Plc, or ROH.
The three companies submitted their bid envelopes to Airports of Thailand Plc (AoT) yesterday. CDS, which had earlier acquired a bid envelope, did not show up.
The three bidders are required to present technical aspects of the scheme, which concerns airports in Phuket, Chiang Mai and Hat Yai, today, according to senior executive vice-president of AoT, Wichai Bunyu.
The AoT will unseal bid price envelopes and announce the bidder with the highest score to operate the duty-free shops at the regional airports next Monday, he said.
King Power earlier received the highest scores for its bid to operate duty-free shops and the commercial zone at Suvarnabhumi airport. The AoT, however, has not yet revealed the scores gained by the unsuccessful bidders.
"I can confirm all the steps pursued by the AoT are transparent since the State Enterprise Policy Office and the Office of the Auditor General were invited to jointly observe all the processes," AoT president Nitinai Sirismatthakarn said.
The bid results of the three contracts -- to operate duty-free shops at regional airports as well as the duty-free shops and commercial space at Suvarnabhumi airport -- will be forwarded to a revenue assessment panel on June 12 and presented to the AoT board on June 19, according to Mr Wichai.