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KCRC carries about 1.5 million passengers a day across its network; around 250,000 cross the border at Lo Wu. Such traffic volumes spell a huge boost for liquor and tobacco business for Sky Connection |
CHINA. Sky Connection has been awarded the lucrative duty free concession at the Lo Wu railway station on the border between Hong Kong and mainland China.
The contract, tendered in May by the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation (KCRC), is for five years, tentatively starting on 1 January 2008. The concession is currently held by DFB Services & Consultants Ltd.
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“This is a very significant contract for our company as, together with our contract at Lok Ma Chau Station, we will be serving all passengers travelling between Hong Kong and Shenzhen by rail“ |
Baker Salleh Chief Executive Officer Sky Connection |
For tobacco and liquor, especially, it is big business; the Lo Wu crossing handles around 250,000 travellers per day. Such volumes make it one of the industry’s most valuable contracts.
Sky Connection Limited CEO Baker Salleh told The Moodie Report today: “We are delighted the KCRC has accepted our offer to be the exclusive operator for the Arrival and Departure duty free shops at the Lo Wu Station.
“This is a very significant contract for our company as, together with our contract at Lok Ma Chau Station, we will be serving all passengers travelling between Hong Kong and Shenzhen by rail,” he commented. “We will also be serving passengers on the through train between Hong Kong and Guangzhou.”
The success is a huge fillip for Sky Connection which in May 2006 won the five-year contract to operate 3,000sq m of duty free space at another lucrative border crossing, the new KCRC railway station between Lok Ma Chau on the Hong Kong side and Huang Gang on the Chinese side of the border.
The company is also the liquor & tobacco concessionaire at Hong Kong International Airport (trading as Free Duty) and in June 2006 also won a three-year contract to operate Arrivals shops at Hong Kong’s Central and Kowloon ferry terminals.
ABOUT KCRC
KCRC currently provides three domestic passenger rail services: East Rail (including Ma On Shan Rail), West Rail and Light Rail. East Rail, a suburban mass transit service, is Hong Kong’s primary north-south transportation artery. It operates between East Tsim Sha Tsui and the Mainland boundary at Lo Wu.
Duty free sales on the East Rail link and onboard through trains rose +10.8% in 2006 compared to 2005, said KCRC at the time of the tender, mainly due to the rise in Mainland Chinese visitors to Hong Kong in the period and a series of promotional campaigns.
KCRC, established in 1982, is a public corporation providing mass transport services in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
KCRC is one of the world’s most successful railway operators: each day it carries about 1.5 million passengers on its 113km network.
MORE COVERAGE OF THE LO WU BUSINESS
KCRC issues tender for Hung Hom and Lo Wu stations and on KCR Through Train – 07/05/07
Sky Connection captures multi-million dollar contract on Hong Kong-China land border – 17/05/06
