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PANAMA. Aeropuerto Internacional de Tocumen, S.A., the corporation that manages Panama’s Tocumen International Airport, is to review and possibly renegotiate concessions granted without a public bid process.
A new board of directors at the airport company is investigating possible irregularities in the direct contracting by the previous board of 78 concessions at the Panamanian hub.
Of these, 58 were granted for the airport’s new North Pier, which opened in stages from 2012.
Alongside major contracts for terminal services, fuelling and maintenance, concessions subject to review include a number of duty free retail businesses, mostly clothing stores.
Industry sources confirmed to The Moodie Report that neither traditional duty free stores nor electronics stores are affected.
Motta Internacional’s attenza and Grupo Wisa’s La Riviera are the main duty free retailers at the airport.
The two Panamanian retailers secured their general duty free concessions at Tocumen through a public bid process.
The airport’s board has called on companies that did not undertake a public tender to submit affidavits revealing their shareholders and partners.
Panamanian press reports have raised concerns about the direct awarding of contracts that have generated significant incomes for the concessionaires and derisory income for the airport company.
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Tocumen Airport could see renegotiation or even cancellation of some directly granted concessions |
