SCREENGRAB from www.bcda.gov.ph
MANILA, Philippines—State-owned Bases Conversion and Development Authority [BCDA] on Tuesday said it will start to bid out 1,300 hectares out of the 9,450 hectares of the Clark Green City by the third quarter of the year.
“We are now preparing the Terms of Reference (TOR) and once finalized, we hope to start the process for the first phase by the third quarter,” BCDA President and Chief Executive Officer Arnel Paciano Casanova said in a statement.
The Clark Green City is being groomed as the country’s first green and smart metropolis. “It will change for the better the way Filipinos live, the way Filipinos do business, and even the way Filipinos spend their leisure time,” he said.
Based on the Clark Green City District Plan, the new city will have five districts namely: the government district; central business district; academic district, agri-forestry research and development district; and the wellness and eco-tourism district.
Casanova said the BCDA is targeting real estate developers, industrial park builders, township builders, and institutional developers among the investors for the first phase of Clark Green City. He added that the 1,300 hectares will be divided into several lots/packages.
Last week, President Benigno Aquino III approved the master development plan and the development of the first phase of the Clark Green City during the National Economic and Development Authority Board meeting.
Part of the first phase is to bring in the critical mass by locating institutions such as schools, government offices and hospitals. The University of the Philippines is Clark Green City’s first locator.
Casanova said Clark Green City is an opportunity for a 100 percent foreign-owned company to invest in urban development in the Philippines since the entire area is a special economic zone.
Casanova added that international firms investing in Clark Green City will further accelerate Foreign Direct Investments.
An estimated P59 billion is seen to be the cost for the development of the first phase that will be shouldered mainly by international and local private sector proponents.
The Clark Green City is seen to contribute approximately P1.57 trillion per year to the economy and will generate 925,000 jobs once at full development.
Casanova also said that it will play a crucial role in increasing the country’s competitiveness, especially when the economic integration of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations is implemented.
“It will open up the region to global trade and investments owing to the world-class infrastructure that is already within reach like the Clark International Airport, the Subic Bay Seaport and the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway,” he said.
The BCDA is tasked to transform former US military bases into economic zones. Some of its big projects are Fort Bonifacio and Villamor Air Base, which are now known as Bonifacio Global City and Newport City, respectively.
Since 1992, the BCDA has generated P60.21 billion from disposition of former camps. Of these, P25.36 billion has been remitted to the National Treasury for the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
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