Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Department Store Co has been awarded the rights to manage the commercial service area at Taipei Railway Station, Taiwan Railway Corp said yesterday.
The current operator, Breeze Center Co, has vowed to challenge the decision.
The state-run railway firm in January launched bidding for business groups interested in managing the commercial service area in the nation’s largest railway station, as its contract with Breeze Center is to expire on July 24.
Photo: Taipei Times
Taipei Railway Station is a hub for four railway systems: Taiwan Railway, Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp, the Taipei MRT and the Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line. It is accessed by 600,000 people daily on average.
In addition to Shin Kong and Breeze Center, six other groups passed the preliminary review and entered the final round of competition, including Hsin Tung Yang Co, President Chain Store Corp, Ruentex Development Co, Eslite Bookstore, Profound Duty Free Shop and JR East SC Development Taiwan Co.
The business group securing the 15-year contract would be in charge of managing the commercial areas on the first and second floors, as well as the first basement floor of the facility, with the potential profits exceeding NT$2.5 billion (US$79.32 million) per year.
Taiwan Railway said that Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Department Store Co was evaluated as the top applicant, while Breeze Center was rated as the second-best applicant.
The best applicant was chosen based on the sum of rankings of each of the evaluators, with the applicant with the lowest total score being ranked highest, it said.
Documents released by Taiwan Railway showed that Shin Kong achieved the lowest score of 23, followed by Breeze Center, JRE SC Development Taiwan Co and Ruentex Development Co all on 24.
Breeze Center was given priority for having the highest number of first-place rankings among the three groups with the same score, it said.
If Taiwan Railway and Shin Kong fail to sign a contract, Breeze Center would be given priority to negotiate for a contract instead, it said.
Breeze Center, which has been managing businesses at the site since 2007, was the only contender to dispute the decision and said it is considering an administrative lawsuit.
“The result had already circulated in the market before the official announcement, making the public question the consistency of the information and justice of the procedures,” it said in a statement.
Taiwan Railway should explain the qualifications of the members of the review committee members and whether they recused themselves during the process to avoid conflicts of interest, it said.
“The project involves major public infrastructure. However, the only committee member with a civil engineering background was absent from the review meeting,” the statement said. “Taiwan Railway should explain whether the absence of the committee member affected the final result.”
Taiwan Railway should not have made an announcement without addressing those issues, the statement said.
Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Department Store Co in a separate statement said that it would transform the site into a central hub aligned with the Taipei City Government’s West District Gateway Project by linking key shopping districts, leveraging its 4.5 million-member ecosystem and retail technology, and integrating art, culture and trendy experiences to create a new national gateway image.
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