Sen Edward Haughey, the chairman and chief executive of Norbrook Laboratories, plans to buy an airport in the north of England and turn it into a centre for executive jets. Mr Haughey (56) is one of two bidders for Carlisle airport in Cumbria which had been put up for sale by Carlisle City Council.

The Newry-based businessman plans to build a facility for the service and maintenance of executive jets on the 1,000 acre site. Norbrook, which makes veterinary pharmaceuticals, has a factory near Carlisle at Great Corby, but will not be involved in the venture. "I am acting in a separate capacity. I think it is worthy of investment and has considerable potential," he said of the proposed investment.

Norbrook's local operation does not use the airport but Mr Haughey is a regular visitor in his own Lear jet. The businessman also owns nearby Corby Castle.

Carlisle City Council decided to dispose of the airport because the annual losses of £200,000 (€253,948) a year were not sustainable. At present it has no scheduled passenger or freight services. Mr Haughey refused to disclose how much he was bidding for the airport but said that the whole project was a multimillion pound venture.

The city council, which is being advised by aviation consultant Drivers Jonas, is expected to announce the winning bidder next month.

Mr Haughey is one of the richest men in Northern Ireland with an estimated fortune of £200 million, mostly based on his stake in Norbrook. He founded the company in 1969 and built it up into an international concern. In the year to July 1999 he received a remuneration package of more than £1 million sterling (€1.6 million). The company is currently making profits in the region of £10 million a year and is considering a market listing.

Former Taoiseach Mr Albert Reynolds appointed Mr Haughey to the Seanad in December 1994 and he is currently the Fianna Fail spokesman on Northern Ireland in the upper house.

If he is successful in his bid for Carlisle airport it will not be Mr Haughey's first venture into aviation. In 1994 he commissioned a study into the feasibility of an internal air service linking regional airports in Ireland. He proposed having two aircraft flying a circular route in opposite directions. He is also a former chairman of the Irish Aviation Authority and a director of Shorts, the Belfast based aircraft manufacturer.