WIN ONE – LOSE ONE AS KENYA AIRPORT AUTHORITY SEES ANOTHER CONTRACT AWARD OVERTURNED BY THE HIGH COURT
(Posted 24th November 2014)
Travelers using Kenya’s main international airport Jomo Kenyatta International will have to wait a lot longer before they can sink their teeth into a Steers’ burger, after the Kenyan High Court sided with failed bidder Suzan General ordering a fresh tender for the restaurant services.
Only last month had the Dubai based company lost their bid before the very same High Court judge to overturn the tender award to establish and run duty free shops at JKIA and this latest court action only affirms the contention of several aviation sources who describe the company as sore losers trying to use the Kenyan court system to keep a foot in the door after the door was shut in their faces.
‘The development of Terminal 1A into a world class facility is being delayed because of too many foreign bidders running to court alleging all sorts of things. We should limit those options especially when tribunals already ruled against them. Travelers will be denied a vital service because of such frivolous legal cases. That company last month already lost a case about duty free shops and now this? They should be black listed for all future bids because they are working against Kenya’s interests which are to offer services in Terminal 1A. I hope they lose the rebidding when it takes place but meantime maybe KAA can appeal the ruling because they really have a case here which the judge seems to have overlooked’ ranted a regular source based at JKIA who had in the past also blamed the legal system for obstructing the airport development with what he had called ‘irresponsible rulings’.
Be that as it may, the empty spaces in Terminal 1A which were to be turned into a restaurant will now remain empty for some more time before either the appeals process has run its course or else KAA advertise for a new tender for restaurant services and re-run the entire process.
