BCDA picks Aecom for Clark master plan

MANILA, Philippines - State-run Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) has named Aecom, a premier master planning firm in the world, as winner of the design competition for Clark Green City’s conceptual master development plan.

According to the BCDA said Aecom’s design was chosen from the top five  submitted for the Clark Green City project as it featured a complete mix of uses for the area.

 “It creates economic vibrancy and at the same time balances it with natural sustainability. Immediately one can see the mix of development particularly when one builds a new city. The design also includes the community that would be living in the area and jobs and opportunities that would be created for a new metropolis,” Arnel Paciano Casanova, president and chief executive officer of the BCDA and chairman of the panel of judges said.

As winner of the design competition, Aecom took home the prize worth $50,000.

Headquartered in California in the US Aecom is a premier fully integrated infrastructure and support services firm, with a range of professionals involved in development such as architects, engineers, designers, planners, economists, scientists, as well as management and construction services professionals.

The firm has nearly 100,000 employees serving clients in more than 150 countries.

Other finalists for the design competition were Hong Kong-based UDP International, London’s Atkins, Walters and Webster inspired Environments, as well as local firm Palafox Associates, and Filipino architects Angelo Ray Serrano and Jan Carlo San Luis.

The Clark Green City which covers 9,450 hectares, is being developed as the first country’s first green and smart metropolis as well as an ideal investment destination.

The project, which is located at the Clark Special Economic Zone, would have an agri-forestry research and development district, government district, central business district, academic district as well as wellness and eco-tourism district.

The first phase of the development of Clark Green City would cover 1,300 hectares.

Casanova said earlier the BCDA intends to sub-divide the development of the 1,300 hectares into several plots of land to give a chance to many interested parties to participate in the project.

At full development, Aecom’s optimized design for Clark Green City is projected to have some 1.12 million residents and 800,000 workers.