CLARK FREEPORT ZONE — The government is poised to immediately tap the underutilized Clark civil aviation complex, according to Aaron Aquino, the newly-appointed president and chief executive officer of the Clark International Airport Corp., during his first meeting with CIAC executives on Monday at Clark.
Aquino, a former police general and chief of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, was appointed last May 29 by President Rodrigo Duterte to head the government corporation in charged with developing the 2,367-hectare civil aviation complex in Clark.
“CIAC is now refocused to forge several strategic partnerships to further develop the remaining prime government land at the aviation complex for commercial use in the next two to three years,” Aquino said.
“To further spur economic growth, we’ll try to quicken the pace and begin the process of expanding airport infrastructure and capacity. Landside business development projects will readily create revenue sources for the national government,” he added.
The CIAC chief also noted that “development plans and timelines will have to be revisited considering the ‘new normal’ scenario so the government may cautiously proceed to start building a globally-competitive aviation complex.”
Simultaneous to these infrastructure expansion projects, Aquino said CIAC is poised to enter into bigger strategic commitments for on- and off-airport commercial development which includes hotels, business offices and convention centers, parking bays, shopping malls, cultural and entertainment attractions, factories, research and development facilities, and air cargo, logistics and service industries.
“CIAC is geared towards establishing a world-class commercial hub surrounding the Clark International Airport, (since) bustling international airports around the globe serve as catalysts and magnets for landside business development,” Aquino said.
Major projects in the pipeline also include the construction of horizontal infrastructure projects such as a new Air Traffic Control Tower, the upgrading of the Airfield Ground Lighting (AGL) System, a new radar system, and the construction of the second runway in conformity with the CRK Master Plan.
The Clark Civil Aviation Complex or CCAC is home to the privately-run Clark International Airport (CRK) as well as the mixed-use business district Clark Global City, and currently around 46 locators in cargo and aviation-related businesses.
CIAC is a subsidiary of the BCDA by virtue of EO 716, issued by then President Gloria Arroyo on April 3, 2008. The Department of Transportation (DOTr), on the other hand, exercises policy and operational supervision over CIAC.
