EVERYBODY seems bullish about the future of Clark Freeport when it comes to aviation, among others.
A top executive of a Singaporean firm engaged in aircraft base and line maintenance with global operations is one of them.
"Clark will be Asia's future aviation hub," Rene Philipp Banzon, deputy general manager of SIA Engineering Philippines, said last Friday, May 18, during a meeting with members of the Capampangan in Media, Inc. (CAMI).
Banzon said Clark will continue to boom especially if its masterplan will be implemented.
"I have full confidence about that," he said.
SIA itself, which is a joint venture between SIA Engineering Corporation and Cebu Pacific Air, will be building another hangar from June to September this year, adding to the already existing three hangars.
"Hangar Four is designed to accommodate wide-bodied aircraft like the A380," Banzon disclosed.
SIA's long-term plan is to have six hangars in the next five years, he said, a period that will see Clark grow even more as an aviation center. When that happens, SIA at Clark will be as big as the one in Singapore, he added.
SIA Clark is currently servicing 14 airlines from Asia, Australia, and other parts of the world.
"Most of our clients are not even operating in the Philippines," he said.
SIA Clark performs primarily base and line maintenance with 14 airworthiness approvals across four aircraft types and a growing roster of customers.
The company, which has been operating at Clark for nine years, although established 10 years ago, has 600 employees, mostly Filipinos highly skilled in aircraft maintenance.
"They are some of the best in the world," he said, noting that number could rise to 1,000 in the foreseeable future given the company's expansion program and aviation development inside Clark. (NCS)