Korea Airports Corporation (KAC) is preparing to issue a tender for a single duty free arrivals shop at Seoul Gimpo International Airport this summer. Expected to be complete before the end of this year, it is one of numerous arrivals duty free shops set to open in regional airports across South Korea from 2020 onwards. KAC is responsible for awarding the concessions.

In line with government policy on airport duty free arrival shops, bidding for Gimpo’s mixed category arrivals shop license will be restricted to SME companies. KAC expects the tender to generate strong interest among SME operators and other enterprises keen to enter the duty free industry.

TENDER PREPARATIONS:
Preparations to tender the Gimpo shop contract recently accelerated following the government’s decision to roll-out arrivals shops faster than first planned. This was prompted by the introduction of airport arrivals shopping in Japan over the past 18 months. The bidding process is expected to follow a similar procedure as the one used for Incheon International Airport’s two recently awarded duty free arrival shop concessions. Operators will submit their bids to KAC which will then shortlist two companies. The pre-qualified bids then will be assessed by Korea Customs Service (KCS), which will make the final decision — as it did with the Incheon Airport shops in March.