September 24, 2024 | 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines — The Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) has teamed up with a Korean government agency to exchange knowledge and explore development opportunities in the New Clark City (NCC) in Tarlac.
In a statement issued over the weekend, the BCDA said a memorandum of understanding (MOU) was signed by BCDA president and CEO Joshua Bingcang and National Agency for Administrative City Construction (NAACC) administrator Hyeong Ryeol Kim on the sidelines of the Global Infrastructure Cooperation Conference 2024 held recently in Seoul.
The parties will be working together to explore collaboration opportunities in urban planning, smart cities development, green energy and smart administrative systems for the development of the NCC.
Through the MOU, Bingcang said the BCDA wants to replicate South Korea’s successes and apply lessons from its move to relocate administrative agencies and national research and development institutes in its administrative capital, Sejong City.
“With Korea as a global frontrunner in terms of smart administrative capitals, we at BCDA are very fortunate to have NAACC as our partner to facilitate knowledge exchange and link us with experts who can help us transform New Clark City as the Philippines’ alternative national government hub,” he said.
Both South Korea and the Philippines, through NAACC and BCDA, have set up satellite government administrative centers outside the capital to ease traffic congestion in their respective metropolitan areas and promote development in other areas.
“We hope that Korea’s experience in building the Administrative City will be helpful in transforming your former military base into a dynamic and vibrant new city,” Kim said.
Since 2007, NAACC has been building the Administrative City in Sejong.
At present, Sejong serves as the administrative capital of South Korea, hosting 40 central administrative agencies and 15 national research and development institutes.
Meanwhile, the BCDA wants the National Government Administrative Center (NGAC) in NCC to host facilities for the Philippine government like offices, government housing units and sports facilities.
The first phase of NGAC includes an integrated government operations center, a government housing facility, the Athletics Stadium, the Aquatics Center, the Athletes’ Village and the River Park.
Government agencies planning to set up facilities in NCC include the Philippine Space Agency for its headquarters; the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas for its coin production and minting facility; and the National Academy of Sports and the Department of Science and Technology for its Virology and Vaccine Institute of the Philippines.
In a separate statement, the BCDA said several business groups based in Central Luzon have expressed support for the proposed amendments to the BCDA’s charter as encapsulated in House Bill 8505 and Senate Bill 2647, to help spur economic growth.
These organizations are the Pampanga Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc., Clark Investors and Locators Association, Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry – Tarlac, Metro Angeles Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Pampanga Business Development Coordinating Council.
In particular, the business groups supported the proposal to convert a portion of BCDA’s economic zones from leasehold to freehold in order to provide inclusive socioeconomic development in the region.
The business groups also supported the proposal to extend the corporate life of the BCDA by another 50 years to have a stable environment for long-term investments.
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