BIZ BUZZ: The Taylor Swift effect
The rest of Southeast Asia, including the Philippines, missed out on the sold-out Eras Tour concert when 14-time Grammy winner Taylor Swift decided to make Singapore her only stop in the region.
The Clark International Airport Corp. (CIAC) wants to make sure this won’t happen again when a global artist decides to go on a world tour.
As such, CIAC vice president for administration and finance Nancy Paglinawan said they plan to put up a 37-hectare (ha) entertainment and events center to attract live shows, sports tournaments and conventions.
The P21-billion project will include a convention center, indoor sports arena, Clark airport mall and multi-modal terminal.
Other projects in the pipeline are the P8.5-billion national food hub and P1.8-billion urban renewal and heritage conservation program.
CIAC has a 1,441-ha property that lies on the 2,367-ha Clark Civil Aviation Complex. —Tyrone Jasper C. Piad
P30-B mixed-use hub to rise in BGC
A 7-hectare (ha) mixed-use development will be built near the new Senate building in the bustling 240-ha Bonifacio Global City, one of the properties in the portfolio of the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA).
The hub will cost at least P30 billion, BCDA president and CEO Joshua Bingcang told reporters in Tarlac last week.
It will also be situated around the yet-to-be-constructed subway station. “It is very prime. Right now, it is being occupied by the Navy, but we will clear out,” he said.
Bingcang said they were ready to publish the invitation to bid this week as they look for property developers to transform the land into a profit-generating hub.
Now, the question is: Who will throw their hats into the ring in the hope of developing the prime lot? Let’s see! —Tyrone Jasper C. Piad
PLDT presidentiables
The search for PLDT Inc. ‘presidentiables’ is on.
Billionaire Manuel Pangilinan has talked with “two or three” potential candidates.
He hopes to name the replacement “by the start of next year” as the tycoon does not “intend to stay too long on this seat.”
“He (new president) could probably start as a CEO position so that he can get a sense of what it takes to drive this company forward. It is not a simple business. It is not a simple organization,” the PLDT chair said.
Pangilinan has been serving as president of PLDT since Alfredo Panlilio stepped down from his post in January due to health reasons. —Tyrone Jasper C. Piad INQ
