A KOREAN state-owned agency will develop a mass housing project in New Clark City in Capas, Tarlac, following the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) on Monday.
With P9 billion in investments, the Korean Overseas and Infrastructure and Urban Development Corp. (KIND) will build 3,000 housing units on a 5-hectare site.
BCDA President and CEO Joshua Bingcang said the project would help address the housing needs of government workers and minimum-wage earners who will be relocating to New Clark City.
“We’re starting with affordable mass housing, so even the military in the neighboring area can avail of it [and] even outsiders,” Bingcang told reporters at the sidelines of the Philippines-Korea Business Forum.
“The infrastructure in New Clark City is there, the jobs are there, [but] the housing is just not enough,” Bingcang pointed out.
The proposed housing project will follow a leasehold arrangement, with an option for potential conversion to freehold in the future if the law allows. Bingcang assured the affordability of the housing units, whose monthly lease payments range from P5,000 to P7,000, with financing options available for up to 30 years.
“We intend to wrap up our negotiation by the end of the year… and break ground within the end of the year,” Bingcang said, adding that thousands of indirect jobs would be created when construction starts.
KIND’s head of urban and property department Ryan Kwangbok Lee said they would also provide feasibility studies and other technical assistance requirements: “We have the mandate to promote Korean companies [to] oversee investments on infrastructure or urban development, just like this affordable housing [project].”
BCDA likewise signed an MoU with another Korean company, RMS Platform, for a smart city development feasibility study focusing on infrastructure and information and communications technology (ICT) integration.
The project, expected to be completed in six months, aims to enhance New Clark City’s ICT capabilities for government operations and business processes.
Be the first to comment