BCDA, Filinvest tie-up for Clark Green City
- Source: http://www.sunstar.com.ph/pampanga/local-news/2015/09/09/bcda-filinvest-tie-clark-green-city-429296
- Wednesday, September 9, 2015
- By Reynaldo G. Navales
CLARK FREEPORT -- State-owned Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) said giant property developer Filinvest Land, Incorporated has tendered its bid to become the agency’s partner in the development of the 288-hectare Clark Green City.
With this, the development of the country’s first smart, green and disaster-resilient metropolis successfully took off, the BCDA said in a press statement on Tuesday.
Filinvest is the lone proponent that submitted a valid bid for the development premium in the amount of P160-million payable upon signing of the contract.
Aside from Filinvest, Ayala Land, Incorporated and Megaworld Corporation secured the bid documents for the selection of BCDA’s joint venture partner.
Under the Terms of Reference (TOR), the minimum acceptable bid was set at P160-million or approximately $3.6 million.
“We are excited to move forward with our new joint-venture partner and start building what will be known as the country’s first ever smart, green and disaster-resilient metropolis that is expected to significantly improve the lives of our countrymen,” BCDA president and chief executive officer Arnel Casanova said.
Filinvest, as BCDA’s partner, will play a significant role in accelerating the development of Clark Green City, according to Casanova.
“We are happy to have Filinvest to be a partner because this will bring the strengths of BCDA as the developer of the Bonifacio Global City, and Filinvest as the developer of the 244-hectare Filinvest City in Alabang and recently, the newest Cebu business district--a P5-billion business process outsourcing (BPO) complex called Filinvest Cyberzone Cebu,” Casanova said.
He added that Clark Green City is seen to become the “center of economic development in the country.”
The partnership of BCDA with the winning bidder will be in the form of a Joint Venture Corporation (JVC) to be owned 45 percent by BCDA and 55 percent by Filinvest.
The term of the Joint Venture Agreement (JVA) is 50 years and renewable for another 50 years.
The JVC shall have the full development and usufructuary rights over the 288-hectare property.
Casanova said the usufructuary rights would be converted to full land ownership if and when the law so allows in the future, subject to mutual agreement of the two parties.
The BCDA, together with the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), is now building the main access roads leading to Clark Green City.
BCDA has also teamed up with Pag-Ibig Fund to build some 2,000 affordable mixed income housing units for future employees of the green city.
The housing project will make Clark Green City inclusive and affordable for the minimum wage earners and even cater to the 85,000 workers in the Clark Freeport.
Last August, the BCDA and the University of the Philippines signed an agreement for the establishment of a campus inside a 70-hectare area.
Groundbreaking is set during the first quarter of 2016.
Last month, the Government of Japan (GOJ) through the Japan Overseas Infrastructure Investment Corporation for Transport and Urban Development (JOIN) forged a cooperation agreement with the BCDA to help the Aquino Administration develop and build Clark Green City as a major economic center in the ASEAN bloc.
According to Casanova, the involvement of the JOIN will lead to multiple joint venture partnerships that will serve as a vehicle for the formation of Japanese consortium and investments in the field of power, transportation, tollways, industrial zones and economic centers
“The Government of Japan will help transform Clark Green City into a major economic center of the ASEAN economic bloc,” he said.
The entire Clark Green City is a 9,450-hectare master planned property within the Clark Special Economic Zone in the province of Tarlac, Philippines.
Clark Green City is expected to have some 1.12 million residents, 800,000 workers and contribute a gross output of approximately P1.57-trillion per year to the national economy or roughly four percent share in the county’s gross domestic product.
The smart city is strategically located at the Clark Special Economic Zone between the highly urbanizing cities of San Fernando, Angeles and Olongapo in Central Luzon as well as the cities of San Carlos, Dagupan and Urdaneta in Northern Luzon.
It is situated near the Clark International Airport and the Subic Seaport.
The strategic location and its connectivity to major cities in Central Luzon through the country’s expressways like the North Luzon Expressway, Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway, Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway will allow the convergence from all points which serve a catchment population of some 12 million people.
Filinvest Land, Incorporated is one of the leading real estate developers in the Philippines.
It is also a pioneer in the development of very large master-planned township developments which provide a convenient mix of commercial, industrial and residential uses.
The firm has over 100 projects located in 39 cities and municipalities nationwide.