Razon chooses Subic, not Sangley, to park his private air force
Billionaire Enrique Razon Jr. is not being seduced by the siren call of Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade to move the general aviation fleet out of the congested Manila airport and transfer across the bay to Sangley by the end of the year.
Instead, the port and casino operator is decamping to Subic, where he is building a 1.8-hectare hangar to initially house his three Gulfstream jets and two helicopters. Targeted to be finished by the third quarter, the Subic facility is also being planned as a regional hangar services, as well as a repair and maintenance provider with lower fee structures for similar jet owners from Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia.
According to the grapevine, Razon has even hired an exGulfstream test pilot, John O’Meara, as general manager for the Subic facility, with both excited at the financial prospects of the venture.
Unlike Sangley with a short runway, limited hangar space, and congested road links, Subic has a 24/7, all-weather airstrip, with the former US naval airport being the regional hub of Federal Express until 2009.
In addition, Subic has no slot restrictions, unlike Manila, Sangley, or even the region’s top airports, and is only 1.5-hour flight Razon time away from Hong Kong, Macau and Taipei.
When the new hangar is finally ready and with Manila airport closed for general aviation, what will likely happen is that Razon will instead fly his VIP gamers from the region to Subic and, from there, ferry the whales via helicopter to Solaire’s happy seductions.
Another looming bonus: Razon could also presumably pick up some collateral business when the bankrupt Hanjin shipbuilding facility in Subic shall eventually be palmed off, given the ongoing geopolitical tensions, to a “private” US Navy contractor.
“The US Navy is exploring the viability of Subic Bay Hanjin Shipyard for use as a potential repair and maintenance facility,” Cmdr. Nate Christensen, the fleet deputy public affairs officer, told the Stars and Stripes on Wednesday.
According to naval analysts, the Subic shipyard could help the US Navy’s mission in the western Pacific by negating the need to send ships to Pearl Harbor for maintenance or repairs. But that, as they say, is another story.
• And speaking of Ricky Razon, the ICTSI chairman used to say that he owned “only” about 51 percent of his listed company. Well, well, as it turns out, the billionaire’s stake is somewhat closer to his age.
Razon, who is turning 60 next year, earlier this week disclosed that his direct and indirect ownership worked out to be 61.99 percent of ICTSI, thus understating the Bloomberg Billionaires Index that estimated his wealth, based on a 49 percent stake in ICTSI on top of his Bloomberry holdings, at around $4.8 billion.
• UP Dean of Urban Planning Hussein Lidasan will present today his team’s recommendation to Pampanga officials as to what mass transport system should link the major towns of Apalit, San Fernando and Angeles.
Commissioned by outgoing House Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, the study’s initial finding was earlier leaning towards a bus-rapid-transit setup as the most cost-efficient. Long-time Ayala executive, now chairman and president Jose Soberano III of the listed Cebu Landmasters has moved up the Makati high society index with the acquisition of a Manila Polo Club share.