CLARK FREEPORT – The Global Gateway Development Corp. (GGDC) held a topping off rites for two office buildings at the Global Gateway Logistics City (GGLC) here on Tuesday.
The two office buildings will add some 45,000 square meters of “Grade A” office space and 9,000 square meters of retail space in this freeport upon completion.
GGDC CEO Mark Williams led the topping- off ceremony for One West and Two West office buildings, which represents the first phase of the multi-million dollar AeroPark Campus in the 177-hectare GGLC here.
In building construction topping out (sometimes referred to as topping off ) is a builder’s rite traditionally held when the last beam (or its equivalent) is placed atop a structure during its construction.
“With the addition of new high-quality offi ce space located in a well-designed master planned precinct within the Clark Freeport Zone and directly adjacent to the Clark International Airport, we foresee the Clark Freeport Zone emerging as a new office and logistics hub for the Philippines,” Williams said.
He also said the two new buildings are LEED pre-certified gold, with a target to become platinum, as they were constructed to international green standards. LEED refers to the Leadership in Energy and Environment Design (LEED) international green building rating system.
“The two buildings will be ready by May 2017,” Williams said. GGDC is the same company that constructed The Medical City Clark—a 173-bed worldclass medical facility and the first locator in GGLC, a master-planned mixeduse aerotropolis that is the first of its kind in the country.
GGDC was originally founded by The Port Fund, a private equity fund managed by Kuwait fi rm KGL Investment Company (KGLI) whose investors largely consist of the shareholders of government entities of Kuwait and other GCC countries.
Williams said three more buildings will rise in 2017 at the Aeropark Campus, located just across The Medical City Clark.
The five office buildings will be interconnected by walkways at the second floor, allowing for traffic-free pedestrian movement. Each building in the campus will have two floors of retail space meant to service inhabitants of the new city. The five office towers in the AeroPark Campus will have a combined gross floor area of 142,000 square meters.
AeroPark Campus is a part of GGLC, a 177-hectare fully master planned logistics and business center of excellence that will have 5.8 million square meters of floor space, once it is fully developed.
The project, directly adjacent to Clark International Airport, boasts of superior, world-class infrastructure constructed to internationally recognized standards and quality underground infrastructure (including pressurized water systems, electrical, telecommunications and fiber optic cabling, and oversized storm water drainage systems) that is unique in the country.
“At full build-out, the City will create over 300,000 jobs translating to over $600 million in annual payroll,” Williams said.
Williams said the topping-off ceremony manifests GGDC’s commitment to the full development of GGLC, which is envisioned to become the most modern city in Southeast Asia.
GGDC plans to transform GGLC into a stateof-the-art commercial and logistics aerotropolis built to the highest environment standards. GGDC has a lease on the property for a period of 50 years, with an option to renew for another 25 years.
