LIKE A dream. For the longest time that is what Clark has been – its greater expanse called the sub-zone, particularly – in visions of an entertainment mecca, of a new frontier, of a green city, varying at every change of leadership in the Bases Conversion and Development Authority.
It works. Finally, with the accession of Vince Dizon to the helm of that state-owned and controlled corporation tasked to transform the former bastions of American military might in the Asia-Pacific into engines for national development.
At no time in Clark’s history has there been this concentration of projects – flagship and blue chips at that – as now, tapping as though every bit of Clark’s immense potential.
At no place other than Clark is the Duterte administration’s Build, Build, Build mantra most solidly manifest.
(New Clark City rising. Photo courtesy of CDC CommDep)
New Clark City
Fast and furious but all so-precise is the rise of the Philippines’ first “smart, green, disaster-resilient metropolis, where nature, lifestyle, business, education and industries confluence.” Under a joint venture with the BCDA, MTD Philippines is in charge of Phase 1A of the National Government Administrative Center (NGAC) at the NCC covering world-class facilities to be used for the 2019 SEA Games, notably a sports complex with an aquatics and athletics center. The stadium will have a seating capacity of 20,000 while the aquatics center can accommodate 2,000 people.
Set upon the standards of world governing bodies in athletics such as the International Amateur and Athletics Federation and the Federacion Internationale de Natation, the sports facilities are eyed for completion by October this year, in time for the opening of the SEA Games in December.
Also included in the Phase 1 are back-up offices of various government agencies to ensure continues business operations and services to the people in cases of disasters or calamities in Metro Manila. To complement the Comprehensive Master Development Plan (CMDP) for the NCC, Dizon signed a memorandum of cooperation with the Japan Overseas Infrastructure Investment Corp. for Transport and Urban Development (JOIN) and the Surbana Jurong of Singapore toward the establishment of the framework of a smart city concept with fully-integrated infrastructure and utilities for power, water, sewerage, information and communication technology, security, and even traffic management.
The CMDP was developed by BCDA and JOIN, in partnership with urban planning and engineering firms AECOM, Nippon Koei, and Philkoei International Inc.
Access roads
Now nearing completion is a primary road to the NCC which includes two interchanges, three bridges, bike and pedestrian lanes, roadway lighting and linear parks. At a cost of P3.125 billion, the construction of the 12.05-kilometer, eight-lane thoroughfare was awarded to V. T. Construction and China Harbor Engineering Construction Consortium.
Other ongoing access road constructions are the seven-kilometer NCC-MacArthur Highway road, and the four-kilometer MacArthur-SCTEx road.
The BCDA also started the construction of Phase 1 of the NCC-Diosdado Macapagal International Airport access road last July 2018. Phase 1 spans 5.33 kilometers at a cost of P3.9 billion The total length of the six-lane access road is 19.82-kilometers that will include a 900-meter bridge, bike and pedestrian lanes, roadway lighting and linear parks.
(UNDERWAY. The airport terminal. Photo courtesy of CIAC-CCO)
DMIA expansion
After the epical failure of past administrations, the new terminal building of the Clark International Airport now renamed Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA) finally broke ground on December 20, 2017 and will be fully operational by June next year. The P9.36-billion project entails the construction of a 10.2 hectares area passenger terminal building that can accommodate an additional eight million passengers per annum.
Dizon said the new terminal building is the first of the Duterte administration’s hybrid infrastructure projects under its Build, Build, Build program. It is considered the fastest to be implemented by the national government since its approval by the NEDA board in June 2017.
The DMIA is envisioned to be the Philippines’ next premier gateway and is expected to help decongest the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
Luzon Bypass
Infra Yet another initiative of Dizon’s BCDA is the Luzon Bypass Infrastructure (LBI) project. A terrestrial bypass route for international submarine cables that will terminate at the landing stations in San Fernando, La Union and Baler, Aurora.
Aimed to be a world-class facility, the LBI project will support the broadband needs of the Philippine government and the BCDA zones while providing resiliency for communication infrastructure across the globe.
At present, the Fronthaul Cable Network Corridor is already completed and the rectification of punch listed items is ongoing. The construction is also ongoing for the Modular Information Technology Facilities and Repeater Stations and the target completion is by the first quarter of 2019. Terrestrial Cable Network Corridor is already being constructed with the target completion eyed by the second quarter of this year.
Subic-Clark rail
Now in its preliminary procurement works, the Subic- Clark Railway Project is finalizing its funding source.
To cost P50.031 billion, the project comprises a 71-kilometer initial freight service connecting the Port of Subic Bay to Clark airport which is expected to be completed by November 2022. It is a component of the PNR Luzon Development Framework envisioned to spur the development of a freight railway system for Luzon, and decongest traffic in Metro Manila.
Branding
In November last year, the BCDA and its subsidiary the Clark Development Corp. launched a new Clark brand integrating the former baseland’s four districts – the Clark Freeport Zone, Clark Global City, Clark International Airport, and New Clark City – in some quadrant of development which unifying rationale Dizon articulated best: “It is the dream of every Filipino to live and work in a city that provides the quality of life that we only see now abroad, that unfortunately we do not see yet in the Philippines. And this is what we want the Clark brand to be – a brand that gives the Filipinos, whether rich or poor, young and old, the access to live the quality of life that we all deserve.”
Hence, Clark: It works. Like a dream.
Now more than ever. Vince Dizon at its helm.
– With reports from BCDA and Ashley B. Manabat
