INDIA. Airports Authority of India (AAI) must call a fresh tender for the appointment of a master concessionaire for retail outlets at Chennai Airport, according to multiple local media reports.
The Madras High Court said there was a conflict of interest surrounding Evolve Business Ventures’ (EBV) winning bid, which was contrary to the tender conditions of the Request For Proposal (RFP) launched in October 2016.
Rival bidder Travel News Services (India) submitted a petition to the court stating that EBV and another firm bidding, Bhawar Lifestyle, were related and under the same management team. Justice M Duraiswamy upheld the petition and set aside EBV’s bid.
“The relationship between two bidders need not necessarily be a corporate relationship, but a close relationship of two bidders that puts either or both of them in a position to have access to each other’s information about or to influence the proposal of either or each other, shall be deemed to have conflict of interest,” said Justice Duraiswamy.
Travel News Services (India) had previously written to AAI about the violation of the conditions of the RFP.
The new tender will call for a master concessionaire to design, build, finance, operate and maintain general retail outlets at the airport.
