CDC eyes 19 major projects

Clark Development Corp. (CDC) expects 19 projects that have pledged investments ranging from P100 million to P1.5 billion each to be implemented at the Clark Special Economic Zone starting this year.

In his report to the Board of  Investments, CDC president Felipe Antonio B. Remollo said these included tourism, residential and  commercial development, manufacturing and aviation-related projects.

Of the 19 projects, 10 are related to industrial manufacturing. This, Remollo said, was proof that “Clark’s industrial cluster is and will continue to be the free port’s most robust sector.”

Remollo said that the biggest of these projects was Eagle Sky Amusement and Gaming’s (Estag) P1.5-billion hotel and casino complex, which will be put up in a 1.5-hectare property near the Clark International Airport.

Robinsons Land Corp. also plans to spend P300 million to append Clark in its growing list of locations for its successful Go-Hotel chain.

To diversify its real estate development business, Hausland Development is eyeing Clark for a 5,000-square-meter area, which it plans to develop into a mixed-use complex that will house restaurants, shops and other commercial establishments.

Other major projects in Remollo’s report were the P106.4-million 3-hectare warehousing project of the MSK Group Work Inc., which planned to establish facilities for the suppliers of Chitai Industry Philippines and Muti-Tek Fasteners, two of Clark’s most active industrial exporters.

In the meantime, Venzon Manufacturing plans to put up a P107-million light manufacturing facility for the manufacture and distribution of wrought iron products such as decorative lighting fixtures.

Also expected to start this year are the expansion projects of Japan-based tire manufacturing plant Yokohama Tire Philippines Inc. (YTPI), Korean firm Donggwang’s recreational and leisure estate project and the Philippine Academy for Aviation Training (PAAT), which broke ground last month.

The expected entry of the 19 projects and the expansion of existing companies in the free port will enable CDC to increase its remittance to the national coffers this year.