The growth was attributed by Central Luzon business chambers to the high-impact projects under the “Build, Build, Build” infrastructure program of the Duterte administration including the New Clark City (NCC), the Clark International Airport (CIA), the Manila- Clark Railway and the Subic-Clark Railway.
“I commend the Duterte administration for making Clark a part of the country’s economic strategy as the region has been experiencing an infl ux of new businesses and investments for the past fi ve years,” Pampanga Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Inc. (PamCham) president Jesus Nicdao said during the 27th North Luzon Area Business Conference at the LausGroup Event Center here attended by various business chambers from Central Luzon last week.
The 9,450-hectare NCC will be the country’s fi rst smart, disaster-resilient, and sustainable city. It will have a mixed use of residential, commercial, agro-industrial, educational institutions and information technology developments.
Railway projects in the pipeline and ongoing construction of access roads inside the city will also provide interconnectivity and better logistics throughout the region.
Nicdao also noted the huge potential of the CIA as a major gateway with the passenger capacity expected to increase to eight million a year with the completion of the new terminal building.
“Passengers coming from north of Metro Manila are using the airport as it is more convenient compared to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport,” Nicdao said.
Meanwhile, National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Secretary Ernesto Pernia said the Build, Build, Build program is gaining ground as the Philippine economy hit 6.8 percent for the fi rst quarter of 2018.
“It is at par with market expectations and close to the low-end of our full-year growth target of 7.0 to 8.0 percent for 2018,” Pernia said. He added that the country had a steady growth streak of 6.9 percent growth for the fullyear 2016 and 6.7 percent growth in 2017.
“Real GDP growth could have been well within our growth range target of seven to eight percent,” Pernia added.
Pernia also said the Build Build Build program will continue its momentum in providing more economic opportunities for Filipinos in terms of job generation, massive investments and fast delivery of public services.
“Our country’s growth implies that we have the potential to become an upper middle income economy, even as early as next year,” he added.
