The Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) has partnered with the Incheon Free Economic Zone Authority (IFEZA) of South Korea to develop its planned Clark Green City (CGC), which is touted as the Philippines’ first smart and totally environment-friendly metropolis.
This was formalized with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between BCDA President and Chief Executive Officer Arnel Paciano Casanova and IFEZA Commissioner Jong-Cheol Lee.
The ceremony was done via teleconferencing with Casanova in Makati and Lee in South Korea.
IFEZA successfully launched the Songdo International Business District within the Incheon Free Economic Zone in 2009 as an international city that integrates the best practices of urban planning and sustainable design principles with a synergistic mix of residential, commercial and retail land civic uses in a master-planned environment.
Casanova said that with the Songdo International Business District as international hub in Northeast Asia, CGC is envisioned to complement this by being its counterpart in Southeast Asia. “This MOU is a first step and, it can lead to a possible strategic relationship between BCDA and IFEZA to foster technical cooperation that encompasses the whole range of assistance activities designed to develop human resources,” Casanova emphasized.
CGC involves the development of 36,000 hectares of land at the heart of Central Luzon or approximately half the size of Metro Manila.
It consists of a 514-hectare Government Center, 2,690-hectare Central Business District, 598-hectare Center of Excellence, 3,135-hectare Agri-Forestry Research and Development Center and 2,513-hectare Wellness and Eco-Tourism Center, which will be built in phases. Phase 1, with a five-year timeline from 2014-2019, will have a total development cost of $1.3 billion covering an area of 1,300 hectares that is to be implemented under the Aquino administration’s Public-Private Partnership Program.
