BCDA to offer low-cost housing for workers in Clark Green City

State-run Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BDCA) is bidding out a P2-billion contract for the construction of a low-cost housing project that will specifically cater to the needs of an expected 85,000 workers who will be relocating to the Clark Green City.

BCDA president and chief executive Arnel Paciano D. Casanova said Thursday night that this project, which will soon see the construction of some 2,000 housing units across 279 hectares within the Clark Green City, was being undertaken in partnership with the Home Development Mutual Fund (Pag-IBIG Fund).

“This is an innovative way of approaching affordable housing because this is a purely rental housing scheme. We are very proud of what we have accomplished here. Here, as we build a new metropolis, we will first build a housing program which even the minimum wage worker could afford. And we could do that by providing a rental scheme,” Casanova explained.

“There are expenses associated in owning a house. But if you’re simply renting it, then the owners will be responsible for that. In the meantime, you only pay what you can afford, which is a rental on a monthly basis,” he added. “Housing should be affordable even for the minimum wage worker. So if you have a job and you are earning even at the minimum, you can find a place at the Clark Green City. You can afford renting here.”

Casanova said the BCDA wants to immediately execute a loan agreement with Pag-IBIG, following the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) in May. Under the said MOU, Pag-IBIG will extend an institutional developmental loan to BCDA.

The target is to break ground by the second quarter of next year.

The Clark Green City, which will serve as the urban core of the Central Luzon metropolis, is seen to play a crucial role in increasing the country’s competitiveness in the ongoing regional economic integration among Asean nations.

This metropolis is expected to rake in some P59 billion worth of fresh investments for the first five years of development, the bulk of which would be shouldered by the private sector. At full development, the Clark Green City is seen to contribute approximately P1.57 trillion per year to the local economy.

Under the Clark Green City Concept Plan, the ideal employee-population ratio is 50 to 80 percent, which means that at full development in the next 50 years, the number of employees there is seen to reach 800,000.

Architects Jan Carlo San Luis and Angelo Ray Serrano won the design competition for the housing project. The winning design was selected based on place branding, responsiveness to local and community needs, environmental sensitivity, green and smart features, project financing and feasibility, operational sustainability and innovation. Amy R. Remo