PAF unit in Clark to move to Subic to free up land

MANILA, Philippines—The Bases Conversion and Development Authority is set to free up more land that can be leased to or redeveloped by potential investors at the Clark Freeport in Pampanga and is having a Philippine Air Force unit currently based there moved to  Subic.

The transfer of Clark’s Air Force City to Subic is expected to open up at least 360 hectares of prime land inside the Clark Freeport, said the Clark Development Corp., a member of the BCDA group.

The Air Force City was allocated to the 600th Air Base Wing under an earlier agreement between the BCDA and the Department of National Defense.

BCDA president and CEO Arnel Paciano D. Casanova was quoted in a press statement as saying that this move signified the BCDA’s intent to further develop the world-class Clark Freeport, by way of assuring investors of the availability of more land area.

In relation to this, the BCDA began in March last year the competitive bidding process for the master planning of some 36,000 hectares of the Clark Special Economic Zone. When completed, the ecozone is expected to position Clark as the investment destination in Southeast Asia.

To date, the BCDA has already invested P33.8 billion in Central Luzon to create opportunities for investment and employment in Region 3.

Casanova claimed in the statement that the BCDA had dramatically improved the investment landscape in Central Luzon by providing the much needed funds for the development of the Clark Freeport and its adjacent communities.

Of the P33.8 billion, P30.68 billion was used for the construction of the 94-kilometer Subic Clark Tarlac Expressway (SCTEx) which connects  the Subic Bay Freeport Zone and the Clark Freeport.

The BCDA also infused P1.28 billion in the Clark Development Corp.  and another P1.53 billion for its 230-kilovolt transmission project.

BCDA’s newest project in Central Luzon is the 35,000-hectare Clark Green City, which will be launched in 2014.

Located at the Clark Special Economic Zone, the “Clark Green City will be environmentally sustainable, socially inclusive, economically competitive, culturally relevant, and technologically integrated” and “will generate billions in investments and generate thousands of jobs.”