State-run Bases Conversion and Development Authority plans to change the master plan of Clark Freeport Zone to accommodate new projects and developments.
BCDA president Vincent Dizon cited an urgent need to amend the design for Clark to cover all ongoing and planned developments.
“Master plans are usually updated and revalidated every five years. We haven’t revalidated the plan in more than a decade now,” he said.
Dizon said the original master plan did not include the expansion of Clark International Airport, the construction of a railway system and the creation of Clark Green City. He said this meant the current master plan was already outdated.
Palafox Associates won the bid for the remaster planning of Clark, but BCDA is also in talks with some of the world’s biggest developers.
“We’re waiting for the results by yearend. With other projects coming in, it’s hard to keep building without the master plan,” Dizon said.
The proposed remaster planning would include the creation of the so-called Asean Villas, a transient residence project where foreign guests can stay during conferences.
The villas will be a part of the privatization plan to recoup the investments spent for improvements in Clark.
“To be honest, we badly need housing. Most of the people working in Clark live outside of the zone,” Dizon said.
Clark Development Corp. said the new plan aimed to optimize the development potential of Clark without compromising the economic, environmental and social integrity of the main Freeport zone.
The new master plan would incorporate a concomitant business plan that “will leverage on the potentials of Clark to incorporate environment friendly, smart and resilient ‘green initiatives’ and fortify the Freeport’s status as a modern industrial estate and premier service and logistics hub in the region.”
It will provide a fresh take on the most strategic approach for further development of the Freeport zone in accordance with the government’s new mantra “Build, Build, Build” whose goal is to usher in the golden age of infrastructure in the Philippines.
Clark’s new master plan will also integrate with the master plan for Subic-Clark Corridor (CFZ, Clark Civil Aviation complex, Clark Special Economic Zone and Clark Green City), the proposed North Luzon Railways project, Manila-Clark Airport Express Railway and a 60-kilometer railway that will connect Clark and Subic Bay Freeport.
(O.V. Campos, MS)
