CLARK FREEPORT – Convenience of transacting with government and decongestion of Metro Manila have been identified by Finance Sec. Carlos Dominguez III as among the top benefits of the National Government Administrative Center (NGAC) now nearing completion at the New Clark City within this freeport in Capas, Tarlac.
Thus, the project “makes sense,” he said during a recent visit to the project site.
Visiting the NGAC recently, Dominguez said that the relocation of national government offices in Metro Manila to the New Clark City here “makes a lot of sense” because of such benefits.
The NGAC as well as a sports complex to be used for the Southeast Asian Games this November are under Phase 1A of the New Clark City project. Projects under this phase have been estimated to be over 80 percent finished. The sports facilities include a 20,000-seater Athletic Stadium, a 2,000-seater Aquatic Center, and an Athletes’ Village.
Patterned after Putrajaya in Malaysia, the NGAC project is part of the Duterte administration’s plan to decongest Metro Manila.
“The government offices in Manila are scattered all over the city; and for the public, it’s very difficult for them if they have to deal with several ministries to go from one place to another. This makes a lot of sense,” Dominguez said in an interview.
“We own the land, it’s available, it will be accessible through rail, train, highways, so it makes sense to really consider moving here,” he added.
New Clark City will be connected to the Subic- Clark-Tarlac Expressway and the Clark International Airport via access roads. A railway network stretching from Calamba in Laguna to New Clark City will also be operational by 2025.
BCDA and private partner, infrastructure developer MTD Philippines, committed to finish Phase 1A in two months.
Dominguez noted that “we laid the groundwork in January of 2018. And in 18 months, this is what you have. This is the result of good planning and excellent management.”
Phase 1A of New Clark City also involves the construction of worldclass sports facilities to be used in this year’s hosting of the South East Asian Games.
New Clark City is envisioned to be the country’s first smart, green, and resilient metropolis in the country.
“The vision of President Duterte for New Clark City is really to afford Filipinos with a better quality of life. The President wants to spread growth outside of the cities and Clark, in the very near future, will be the clear embodiment of this inclusive growth,” said BCDA President and CEO Vince Dizon.
