NDC developing ‘smart city’ in Cavite

MANILA, Philippines  -National Development Company (NDC) is in the process of redeveloping its 20-hectare (ha) industrial estate in Cavite, eyeing its transformation into a smart city model by the fourth quarter of next year.

NDC general manager Antonilo DC Mauricio said on Wednesday that they were redeveloping the NDC Industrial Estate (NDCIE) in Dasmarinas, Cavite, a property that is the extension of the over 100-ha First Cavite Industrial Estate (FCIE) which they also previously developed.

“The original concept NDCIE was supposed to launch (in the first quarter of 2024), the roads and pre-development (features) are 80-percent done. We will push it back to (the fourth quarter of 2024) so we can accommodate the new concept,” Mauricio said in a message sent to the Inquirer.

The NDC chief said they were planning to turn it into a “smart city template industrial estate,” adding that they were aligning it with the government’s innovation push, as well as the digital transformation thrust of the Marcos administration.

Mauricio said that P188 million had been originally earmarked for the pre-development of the property, but said that they were in discussions to raise the budget for the venture.

The NDC, the investment arm of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), has in its pipeline over P30 billion worth of investments in various stages, with at least 18 projects in its shortlist of prospects.

The key prospects include that of the vaccine manufacturing plant of Glovax Lifesciences Corp. in Batangas, where the NDC is looking to invest P150 million for the facility and another P50 million for the company’s animal vaccine project.

READ: PH vaccine facility to begin production in two years

Also in its list is the waste-to-energy project of Australian energy firm Cyclion Pty Ltd., where it is also looking at another P150-million investment.

The NDC is also planning a P40-million investment into the Davao Thermo Biotech Corp.

READ: NDC invests P40M in Davao biotech firm

“Looking ahead at 2024, the NDC will continue to identify gaps where it can make its modest contributions to national development,” Mauricio said in a statement earlier this month.