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The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority board has awarded DAA International a 20-year contract to develop and operate a remote VIP passenger facility at Dulles International Airport.
The board approved the contract July 15. Valued at $125 million over its full term, the agreement calls for the Ireland-based operator to build the facility on a 51,000-square-foot parcel near the airport’s Cargo 6 building.
The facility is expected to take about 30 months to complete once construction begins. The supplied source did not state a construction start date or an anticipated opening date.
Under the agreement, the operator will handle passenger and luggage screening and transport customers and their bags to and from gated commercial aircraft. The facility is also expected to offer food and bar service, private suites, restrooms and WiFi.
“The contractor will screen and transport passengers and their luggage to/from gated commercial aircraft and provide amenities, such as food and bar service, private suites, restrooms and WiFi,” the contract agreement states.
MWAA officials expect customers to pay either a daily charge or a membership fee to use the facility. Prices for either option were not reported in the supplied material.
DAA International will pay MWAA annual rent as well as a percentage of the facility’s total revenue. The supplied information does not specify the rent amount or the percentage that will go to the airports authority.
The authority selected DAA International from a field of three bidders. One of the unsuccessful bidders appealed the proposed award, but that company was not identified in the supplied material.
At the July 15 meeting, the MWAA board rejected the appeal before approving the contract. Board member Trent Morse cast the only vote against rejecting the appeal and was also the sole opponent of awarding the agreement to DAA International. Morse was described in the supplied reporting as an appointee of the Trump administration.
The contract establishes the operating term and the financial relationship between DAA International and MWAA, but several details affecting prospective customers were not reported in the supplied material. In addition to the absence of reported access prices, the supplied material provides no project schedule beyond the estimate of approximately 30 months for completion after construction starts.
The unsuccessful bidder’s identity also remains unreported. The supplied material does not describe that bidder’s grounds for appealing the award or provide additional details about the board’s reasons for rejecting the challenge.