Ongpin eyes partner from Abu Dhabi
"The market is abuzz with speculation that Sheik Surroor Bin Mohammed Al Nahyan, developer of the luxurious Etihad Towers and Abu Dhabi Trade Center, may buy out the stake of Ashmore Group Plc. in Alphaland following reports of strained ties between Ongpin and the UK-based investment fund."
Alphaland flights, swamped
With the transport aircraft of the Air Force and private airlines fully deployed for relief operations, some people quickly turned to Alphaland Corp. for help in transporting relief goods to areas outside of the Tacloban disaster zone.
Alphaland, of course, has a fleet of four aircraft—two mid-sized BAe Jetstream turboprops and two Cessna Grand Caravans—that normally ferry the rich and famous to and from its Balesin Island resort.
The company owned by Roberto Ongpin have since deployed all four planes to its relief operations concentrating on Guiuan in Samar, Ormoc in Leyte, Coron and Busuanga in Palawan, and Roxas City in Capiz. Additional flights are also slated for Aklan.
Alphaland has also deployed a barge to ferry relief goods to Tacloban and Busuanga.
The generosity of its private donors is quickly becoming something of a logistical nightmare for the property developer, however.
Despite having flown and shipped more than 25 metric tons of relief goods to Visayas, drinking water, rice, canned goods, noodles and other goods are starting to pile up at the company’s hangar.
To date, we hear there are at least 100 tons of relief goods waiting to be flown out on planes that can carry only an average of one ton per flight.—Daxim L. Lucas
