MALOLOS CITY—Bulacan is gearing up for rapid industrialization that is likely to be highlighted by the centennial of the Iglesia ni Cristo, and the 2015 Asia Pacific Economic Conference.
In preparation for what officials claimed as “inevitable development’, a blue print for the rapid industrialization of the province is set to be launched by Friday.
Gov. Wilhelmino Alvarado said that investors are now looking up north of Manila, and Bulacan is likely to benefit due to its strategic location.
“We are the gateway to the north and we have to prepare for the inevitable development or we will be left behind,” the governor said.
He expressed optimism that rapid modernization of Bulacan will be felt before the end of the year.
This is due to next year’s centennial of the Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) which will be held at the Philippine Arena which is being constructed at present.
Dubbed as the biggest domed arena in the world, the Philippine Arena will rise at the Ciudad Victoria, a campus-like complex being constructed by the INC at the border of Bocaue and Sta. Maria towns.
Alvarado said that entertainment centers, medical facilities and sports complex will be constructed within the 100-hectare area of Ciudad Victoria and its immediate vicinity.
He said that housing projects are also sprouting like mushroom within the 10-kilometer radius of the INC massive project.
The said housing projects are designed to accommodate thousands of INC members who will flock to Bulacan for the centennial.
“Last year, ang presyo ng lupa sa area ng Bocaue ay P300 per square meter, pero ngayon ay nasa P7,000 na ay wala pang mabili,” Alvarado said that INC members abroad are looking for possible retirement homes in the province.
Aside from the religious sect’s centennial, the governor expressed hope that the 2015 APEC conference maybe partly held in Bulacan.
He said that the INC facility which will be completed by next year will be ready for the APEC conference.
According to the governor, Bulacan must prepare for increasing development in order to maintain balance with ecology.
He said that they launch the Provincial Physical Framework Plan on Friday which contains the plan for the rapid Industrialization of the province.
He said that the plan was prepared by notable urban planners and used the experience of Shenzhen, China as a model.
A province north of Hongkong, Shenzen is considered as the most successful economic zones in the world and one of the top cities with the highest Gross Domestic Product per capita.
Its industrialization was the brainchild of the late Chinese leader Den Xioaping.
Alvarado said that if it took Shenzhen about 30 years to developed, it can be done in Bulacan in half the time.
He said that current technologies today can fast track construction of infrastructures.
