Mayor salvages turbulent relationship to ink $2.73m hangar deal with Rex

Rex will fork out $2.73 million for the facility built by failed painting and refurbishment business Douglas Aerospace using a $2.5m loan from Wagga council in 2013.

Rex already agreed to buy the hangar for $2.8m in January 2016 – $70,000 more than Wednesday’s deal – and agreed to pay council $20,000 a month while council brought the defective building up to code. 

Twelve months later and the airline’s reportedly finally satisfied with the building quality.

Singapore-based Rex chairman Lim Kim Hai said mayor Greg Conkey’s intervention in the operational matter was the only reason the airline inked the deal.

“Great credit needs to be given to the new mayor Cr Conkey, without whom this deal would surely have aborted,” Mr Lim said.

“Rex looks forward to a new era of close partnership with the City of Wagga.”

Cr Conkey has spent the past three months patching up the fragile commercial partnership, salvaging the sale of what would otherwise be a white elephant. 

“The paint hangar is a significant business for the city and reinforces the airport as a growing hub for commerce, employment, education and training in the aviation industry,” Cr Conkey said. 

“I have been supported in that process by a number of senior staff members including the General Manager, Alan Eldridge, as well as all members of the elected body.

“I appreciate the patience shown by Rex during this process and look forward to working closely with Rex going forward.”

Late last year the turbulent relationship between Rex and council took a nose-dive, when the company threatened to scrap flights to Melbourne and close its local engineering base, putting 70 Wagga workers out of a job. 

The airline was incensed by council’s proposal to ratchet up its passenger tax by $760,000 a year, labeled the move “extortionist” and offered to run the airport on council’s behalf.