Retail in Panama's Tocumen Airport

Bidding will start in September of next year for commercial space in the new terminal of Panama’s Tocumen International Airport, as well as concessions in the existing terminal, which expire in 2017.

With a planned inauguration in late 2017, the 75,000 square meter terminal will enable Tocumen to handle up to 15 million passengers a year, up from current levels of close to 9 million.

Tocumen S.A., the company which controls the airport, has hired Pragma Consulting to design the bidding process.

Based in London, and specializing in commercial development, Pragma has worked with various airports, including Abu Dhabi, Delhi, Heathrow, Xi’an and Zurich.

In 2007, Waked International and Motta International together paid $175 million for the right to manage 500 thousand square meters of commercial areas in the main terminal over a ten-year period.

Waked International is one of the main tenants of the Colón Free Zone, the largest wholesale duty-free center of the Americas, while Motta International is controlled by Stanley Motta, chairman of Tocumen-based Copa Airlines.