CLARK FREEPORT – Two of the country’s giant corporate conglomerates are now in serious negotiations to acquire vast tracts of lands in Porac, Pampanga after the Ayala group broke ground last year with its multi-billion project in the town’s periphery.
Porac Mayor Condralito “Carling” Dela Cruz said Henry Sy’s SM group and Many V. Pangilinan’s Metro Pacific Investments are planning to build residential and business hubs in Porac. Dela Cruz said the two giant corporations “could hasten the municipality’s transformation into a bustling metropolis in Central Luzon within a decade.”
Dela Cruz made the announcement during the media forum “Balitaan” organized by the Capampangan in Media, Inc. (CAMI) in cooperation with the Clark Development Corp. (CDC) and the Social Security System (SSS) at the Bale Balita here last Friday.
The mayor said SM, through its foundation SM Cares, has already established a foothold in Porac by actively supporting socio-civic projects in the town like medical missions in partnership with non-government organizations such as the Rotary International, the Filipino-Chinese Chamber of Commerce, Kiwanis Foundation, and the Kapampangan Development Foundation among others.
He added that Pangilinan’s group has set its eyes on acquiring for commercial development a property adjacent to the Subic- Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEx). Last year, Ayala Land in partnership with Leonio Land broke ground in the 1,100-hectare master- planned community called Alviera in Barangay Hacienda Dolores in the town.
The P75-billion development project is set for completion by the year 2020, or five years from now, Dela Cruz said, adding that this could further bolster the attraction of the town to both local and foreign investors.
It was estimated that the Ayala Group would be investing a total of P3.1 trillion to complete its projects in Porac which include a water- and-sewage system and a hydro-power facility, Dela Cruz said.
Porac is a 35,000-hectare mountainous area on the northwestern side of Pampanga and lies between the Clark Freeport, which houses the Clark International Airport (CIA), and the Subic seaport in the province of Zambales managed by the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA).
This strategic location of Porac is usually cited as the primary reason that lured the country’s corporate giants to acquire a stake in the municipality. Dela Cruz is largely credited for convincing the Ayala Group to invest in the town which bore the brunt of the Mt. Pinatubo eruptions and the subsequent lahar rampages that buried the town under tons of volcanic materials.
