BCDA pitches investment opportunities in New Clark City to German firms
New Clark City is the next investment destination in Asia, said the Bases Conversion and
Development Authority (BCDA), as it pitched business opportunities to German firms at the recent
2019 Asia Pacific Forum Bavaria held in Nuremberg.
At the Asian Hotspots Panel, BCDA Vice President for Investments Promotion and Marketing
Atty. Joanna Eileen Capones highlighted the infrastructure developments in Clark, including New
Clark City, envisioned to be the first smart, green, and sustainable metropolis in the country.
New Clark City is a 9,450-hectare metropolis rising within the Clark Special Economic Zone, with
only 3,500 hectares as buildable area, leaving 6,000 hectares or 60 percent as green and open
spaces.
Capones said 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.
Phase 1A of the New Clark City project—the National Government Administrative Center
(NGAC)—is now close to 90 percent complete, just 18 months since it broke ground. Part of Phase
1A is the construction of sports facilities to be used during the Philippines’ hosting of the 30th
South East Asian Games (SEA Games) later this year. These world-class facilities include a
20,000-seater Athletics Stadium, a 2-000-seater Aquatics Center, and an Athletes’ Village.
According to Capones, Clark is an attractive location because of its proximity to connectivity
infrastructure being improved under the Build Build Build program. These include the construction
of a new terminal at the Clark International Airport operational by mid-2020, the Manila-Clark
passenger railway that will connect the capital to Clark by 2022, and a cargo railway connecting
Subic to Clark by 2022.
Clark also offers fiscal and non-fiscal incentives, provides a green and safe environment, and the
region boasts of a young and English-proficient work pool.
Also in attendance at the Asia Pacific Forum were Philippine Ambassador to Germany Ma. Theresa
B. Dizon-de Vega, Deputy Consul General Emil Fernandez of Frankfurt PCG, German-Philippines
Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GPCCI) Executive Director Dr. Martin Henkelmann,
Philippine Trade and Investment Center (PTIC)-Berlin Commercial Counselor Althea Antonio, and
BCDA Director Gerard Camiña.
Dr. Henkelmann cited the Philippines’ economic growth momentum, positive credit ratings, and the
massive infrastructure program as key factors to invest in the country.
The Philippines remains an attractive market for German firms according to the 2019 AHK World
Business Outlook Survey conducted by GPCCI, wherein more than 70 percent of the respondents
evaluated their business situation in the Philippines “better” than the previous year.
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References:
Atty. Joanna Eileen M. Capones
Vice President for Investments Promotion and Marketing
+63 917 810 5976
Leilani Barlongay-Macasaet
AVP for Corporate Communications
+63 908 899 8578