National gov’t center to rise in Clark City

Aetas in Tarlac province pass through a construction area where a P13-billion national government center will be built.

CAPAS, TARLAC—By 2020, a national government center hosting satellite offices of all agencies will serve the public in this section of a growing New Clark City.

Foreign Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano this week led the groundbreaking ceremony for the P13.16-billion National Government Administration Center (NGAC) that would be built at a 200-hectare area in Barangay Aranguren here.

The New Clark City is being developed within the Clark Special Economic Zone which straddles Capas and neighboring Bamban town.

According to a project brief, the NGAC will integrate an operations and disaster risk and recovery center, which will serve as a backup facility to provide continuous national government service.

Once completed in 2019, the project’s second phase will start with the construction of additional government office buildings, government housing units and support service facilities on a 20-ha area of the New Clark City.

The NGAC will be built by the MTD Capita Berhad, one of Malaysia’s leading developers.

The center will also include a world-class sports complex which will serve delegates when the country hosts the 2019 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games, said Cayetano, who chairs the 2019 SEA Games organizing committee.

“We’re all praying that everything goes well. These are the first two major projects but there are a lot more sports facilities that we’re going to build, including training centers, here in Subic and all around the country,” he said.

The sports complex, he said, will have a stadium that can seat 20,000 people and an aquatics center that can accommodate 2,000 spectators.

“They are also building 1,000 units of bedrooms, from single to four occupants, for coaches and players,” he said, adding that even after the SEA Games, these facilities could be rented out for the training of athletes from countries with harsh winters.

“In major events … you’ll have at least 11,000 people composed of athletes, coaches and some of their fans. So, if you cannot have them ready today, then tomorrow you test them,” Cayetano said. —GABRIEL CARDINOZA