Maya Duty Free has sued the Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) over its eviction from the airport in February.
KAA ordered Maya to shut down a concession store it runs at JKIA’s Unit 4 terminal, and surrender the space to Switzerland’s Dufry International.
Maya accuses the KAA of deliberately evicting it from the location in order to grant Dufry a monopoly over concessions at Unit Four in violation of Kenya’s competition laws.
The fight for control of Jomo Kenyatta International Airport’s (JKIA) duty-free shops space has taken a new turn with the filing of a suit challenging the eviction of one of the operators from the airport.
Maya Duty Free, which operated a shop in the duty-free space, has sued the Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) over its eviction from the airport in February, terming the decision illegal.
Court papers indicate that the KAA ordered Maya to shut down a concession store it runs at JKIA’s Unit 4 terminal, and surrender the space to Switzerland’s Dufry International.
Maya accuses the KAA of deliberately evicting it from the location in order to grant Dufry a monopoly over concessions at Unit Four in violation of Kenya’s competition laws. It argues that the decision is contrary to the terms of a contract that the KAA entered into with Dufry in January 2015. Dufry already operates another duty-free shop at Terminal 4.
The KAA’s contract with Dufry gives the Swiss firm the right to operate a duty-free shop, a restaurant, a communication and phone centre and a foreign exchange service until 2024 on a maximum of 730 square metres.
But Dufry argues that Maya has been living on borrowed time as the local firm only had a temporary permit that expired in August last year. The Swiss firm reckons that the temporary permit was only to allow the KAA time to look for a permanent operator of the Unit 4 concession store.
Maya argues that handing over its space to Dufry will give the Swiss firm more than the 730 square metres allowed in its contract and is therefore illegal.
Maya has enjoined the Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK) in its suit, which also accuses the KAA of not conducting any tender proceedings for the Terminal 4 store.
Ownership of duty-free shops at JKIA has been at the centre of vicious battles between local and international firms since Kenyan businessman Kamlesh Pattni agreed to surrender his rights over the space at the busy Nairobi airport.
Dufry was in 2015 awarded a tender to operate a concession store at the airport following a protracted legal battle with Suzan General – another firm linked to Mr Pattni.
Suzan General was, however, awarded a separate space to operate a competing concession store at JKIA and Moi International Airport in Mombasa. Dufry says that contrary to Maya’s claims, the KAA did call a tender, which the Swiss firm won after another legal battle before the public procurement appeals body.
Dufry also insists that it is only operating on 526.85 square metres at JKIA and has therefore not exceeded the 730 square metres defined in its contract with the KAA.
“The first tender was, following evaluation of bids, awarded to Nuance AG. This award was challenged by requests for review made to the PPARB [Public Procurement Administrative Review Board]. Subsequently the KAA called a new tender sometimes in 2014. This award (to Dufry) was similarly but unsuccessfully challenged thereby paving the way for negotiations between the KAA and Dufry to continue,” the Swiss firm says.
Maya has, however, argued that it repaired its other shops at JKIA following an August 2013 fire without the KAA’s assistance unlike other concession firms that were awarded additional trading space in Nairobi and Mombasa aerodromes.
“Suzan General was compensated alternative spaces at Terminal 1b, 1c and Terminal 2. Rono Duty Free got alternative spaces at Terminal 1b and Terminal 2.
Safari Duty Free got alternative spaces at Terminal 1b and 1d,” Maya argues, insisting that it got no such compensation.
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