Swiss firm bags tender to build, run duty-free shops

Swiss firm Dufry International AG has been awarded a 10-year contract to build and maintain duty-free shops at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.

This comes days after the termination of a case by Dubai-based firm Suzan General, which sought to block the Kenya Airports Authority award of the tender to Dufry.

Mr Justice George Odunga last week ruled that the Dubai-based firm, which had moved to court, did not have an arguable case, hence denied it a chance to commence proceedings against KAA.

The authority said in a statement on Tuesday that the tender will see Dufry operate in excess of 751 square metres of retail space. These will include duty free shops, food and beverage outlets, communication and phone centre and foreign exchange services until 2024.

“Kenya Airports Authority is happy to be associated with Dufry which is one of the biggest duty-free retailers in the world,” authority managing director Lucy Mbugua said in the statement.

The commercial area is located at the departure of the newly opened Terminal 1A. Dufry now has the licence to offer a comprehensive range of products to travellers through East Africa’s busiest airport.

“We are very pleased about this new agreement with Kenya Airports Authority. Dufry’s new business in Kenya will allow us to further develop the business in Africa,” Dufry Group boss Julian Diaz said.