State-owned Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) has begun looking for a joint venture (JV) partner to help develop a portion of Clark Green City it is building in the former US airbase straddling the provinces of Pampanga and Tarlac, according to a notice it published in a newspaper yesterday.
In that bid bulletin, BCDA said the development of the first parcel, or the 254-hectare (ha) portion, of the 9,450-ha Clark Green City will be under a JV corporation, where it will have a 45% stake.
The winning bidder will own 55% of the JV company, and must infuse an initial paid-up capital of P2.5 billion.
But BCDA Vice-President for Financial Services Group Nena D. Radoc said in a mobile phone interview on Thursday that the “total value of the joint venture will be determined after it (BCDA) finds a partner.”
“The 55% share of the private partner doesn’t equate to the P2.5 billion.
The amount is just the initial paid-up capital,” Ms. Radoc told BusinessWorld.
“We will determine the total JV cost once we find a partner.”
The BCDA said in its notice that interested local or foreign real estate developers should have “a proven track record in the development, marketing, management and leasing of large property mixed-use development,” and pay a minimum premium of P500 million, which is on top of the initial capital of the JV corporation.
“The eligible bidder who offers the highest premium will be declared the winning bidder, subject to post-qualification,” BCDA said in the notice.
Piecemeal
Envisioned to be the country’s first smart, green and disaster-resilient metropolis, BCDA said Clark Green City is a 9,450-ha master-planned property within the Clark Special Economic Zone.
The terms of reference for the contract will be made available to interested bidders from Feb. 26 to April 15 for a non-refundable fee of P200,000.
BCDA President and Chief Executive Officer Arnel Paciano D. Casanova had said last Feb. 13 that the terms of reference were for release on Feb. 19.
Financial markets and government offices were closed for a public holiday yesterday.
At the time, Mr. Casanova had said the contracts for Clark Green City will be bid out piecemeal, with three of the five segments making up the 1,250-ha first phase — each measuring 200-300 ha — to be auctioned off this year.
A pre-bid conference will be held on March 16, wherein the property, the terms of reference and inquiries from interested bidders will be discussed.
“We hope to open bids and announce the winning bidder within first half of the year,” Mr. Casanova said in a separate phone interview yesterday.
The envisioned mixed-use area will have five districts, namely: government district; central business district; academic district; agro-forestry research and development district; as well as wellness, recreation and eco-tourism district.
The master plan project for the entire Clark Green City was approved by the National Economic and Development Authority Board in May last year, while a $1.7-million feasibility study is under way for the Food Processing Terminal Project there under the government’s flagship public-private partnership program.
A study last year by the Japan International Cooperation Agency on ways to decongest Metro Manila said: “Clark Green City is expected to serve the core for development of the regional cluster in Central and Northern Luzon.”
