THE Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) is wooing German companies to invest in New Clark City, citing the benefits and opportunities for locators.
During the 2019 Asia Pacific Forum held in Nuremberg, Germany, BCDA Vice-President for Investments Promotion and Marketing Joanna Eileen M. Capones positioned Clark as the first “smart, green and sustainable” city in the Philippines.
She noted that the 9,450-hectare New Clark City will only have 3,500 hectares of buildable areas, leaving 6,000 hectares for green and open spaces.
New Clark City’s Phase 1A, the National Government Administrative Center, is 90% complete after starting its construction more than a year ago. This houses the sports facilities, which will be used for the 30th Southeast Asian Games to be held in the Philippines in November, including a 20,000 stadium; 2,000-seater aquatics center; and an Athletes’ Village.
“Firms can explore opportunities in the mixed-use industrial park, on Information and Communications Technology (ICT), Integrated Transport System, Solid Waste Management System, Gas Distribution System, and the operations and maintenance of the New Clark City sports facilities,” Ms. Capones was quoted as saying in a statement.
Aside from its fiscal and non-fiscal incentives, Ms. Capones said Clark is an attractive location given its accessibility to transportation infrastructure projects of the government, which include the new terminal at the Clark International Airport, which will be operational by 2020; the Manila-Clark Railway; and a cargo railway connecting Subic and Clark, which will be both completed by 2022.
Citing data from the 2019 AHK World Business Outlook Survey, the BCDA noted that the Philippine is still an attractive location for German companies, with 70% of the respondents saying that their business in the country has improved than last year. — Vincent Mariel P. Galang
