Home Headlines NCC gov’t hub to ensure efficient service delivery Also ease congestion in...

NCC gov’t hub to ensure efficient service delivery
Also ease congestion in Manila

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CLARK FREEPORT – A more resilient and sustainable master planned metropolis that is seen to ensure the efficient delivery of services is now being completed at the New Clark City (NCC) located at the Clark special economic zone in Capas, Tarlac.

The construction of the National Government Administrative Center (NGAC) at the NCC is also expected to ease congestion in Metro Manila as national agencies seek to locate at the new Metropolis.

A recent report by the Japanese news agency Nikkei noted that “Metro Manila is home to nearly 13 million people, based on the latest census, but the number swells to around 15 million during the daytime, when workers stream into the city from the suburbs.”

The report said “success in Clark could at least take some of the pressure off ” Manila, as it cited the Japan International Cooperation Agency’s (JICA) projection that the country could lose up to P5.4 billion due to congestion daily by 2035 if no interventions are made on the capital’s traffic conditions.

It also quoted Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III, who supports the establishment of the government center, saying: “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 (NGAC) makes a lot of sense.”

Several government offices are set to move its operations to NGAC at NCC, 100 kilometers north of congested Metro Manila.

NCC is envisioned to be the first smart, green, and sustainable metropolis in the country.

Phase 1 of the 200-hectare NGAC also involves the development of back-up offices of various government agencies to ensure continuous business operations and services for the people in case of disasters or natural calamities.

Phase 1A is already close to 90 percent complete and is targeted to be finished by the end of August.

The Nikkei report further said NCC “would also give Manila something it sorely needs: a competitor.”

The World Bank, in a 2017 report on urbanization, noted that “the lack of viable alternatives for people and businesses contributes to the capital’s worsening congestion as the national economy grows.”

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