Middle East billionaire eyes $1.2-billion aviation city in Clark

MANILA, Philippines - A top Kuwaiti investor and the Philippine government are in talks for a possible $1.2-billion project to put up an aviation city in Clark, Pampanga, Malacañang said yesterday.

Press Secretary Cerge Remonde said Mrs. Arroyo met briefly with Kuwaiti billionaire Sheikh Nasser Al-Kharafi in Marsa Alam, Egypt where the construction magnate expressed interest in putting up an aviation facility in Clark.

Mrs. Arroyo made the stop-over to Marsa Alam on her way to Cairo, Egypt where she was to meet with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak last night. The Egyptian holiday area is the site of the Marsa Alam International Airport constructed by Al-Kharafi Group.

From Cairo, she and the rest of the Philippine delegation will proceed to Damascus, Syria for a state visit. She will meet with Syrian Bashar Al-Assad and address the Syrian People’s Assembly.

“We are here in investments mission. (Mrs. Arroyo) was able to speak with Sheik Al-Kharafi, one of the biggest financiers in the Middle East,” Remonde, who accompanied the President, told the government-owned dzRB.

“He is interested to invest and develop an aviation city in the Clark area,” he said.

He said the Al-Kharafi Group will start negotiations with the Clark International Airport Corp. for a possible $1.2-billion joint venture for an airport and an “aviation city.” The group has an estimated net worth of $14 billion.

Mrs. Arroyo met with members of the Filipino community after attending a Mass in Cairo.

Meanwhile, the government will establish a welfare center in Cairo to look after the welfare of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), Labor Secretary Marianito Roque said.

Roque said the welfare center will address the problems of Filipinos, especially domestic workers who encounter problems such as immigration concerns and abusive employers.

Roque said Egyptian laws prohibit the hiring of domestic helpers except those hired by diplomats and expats.

He said most of the Filipino househelps here were brought by their employers to Egypt from other Gulf states but when their working permits expire, problems arise due to restrictions imposed by Egyptian laws on the entry of foreign domestic workers.

‘’We will work out (something) so consideration maybe given to legitimize their stay,’’ Roque said, referring to the Filipino domestic workers now in Egypt.

He said the welfare center will look after Filipino workers here as there is no labor agreement between the Philippines and Egypt.