World-class business park to rise inside Clark zone

CLARK ZONE, Pampanga – A world class 10-hectare business park with an initial investment of $1 million will be established inside Clark Special Economic Zone (CSEZ) by an American firm, Berthaphil Inc., Clark Development Corp. (CDC) president Emmanuel Angeles said.

Angeles said Berthaphil will construct high rise and standard factory/warehouse buildings to be used as an IT center and business arcade similar to the Rockwell Center in Makati City.

Angeles signed a contract with Berthaphil president and general manager Elizabeth M. Castro for the establishment of the business park which will also serve as warehouse and trading distribution hub and a center for light manufacturing and other mixed used business and commercial activities.

Angeles said that despite the separation of the operations of the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA) from CDC, it has attracted more investments inside Clark Ecozone as the total number of investments soared to 371 the current business update as of Oct. 30 this year.

For 2003 alone, Angeles said CDC was able to sign 116 investment projects, which include new projects, renewal of lease agreements, expansion programs among others.

Angeles said that Clark zone is still one of the most preferred investment sites in the country by foreign and local investors due to its attractive features and incentives and availability of skilled English speaking workers.

Aside from airport development, Angeles added that tourism-related activities have been given a boost to generate the interest of local and foreign tourists to visit Clark zone which leads to patronizing the products being offered there.

A report made during the recent Metro Clark Advisory Council (MCAC) meeting here, CDC Marketing Department manager Ethel Miranda showed that CDC signed 85 agreements as of Oct. 30, of which 56 are new lease agreements while the rest are either sub-lease and expansion agreements.

Miranda also reported to Angeles that new projects in Clark zone have also committed to generate some 2,141 workers within the first year of their operations increasing this to 3,434 within the next five years.

MCAC an advisory body comprising the mayors of cities and towns surrounding Clark zone which is chaired and co-chaired by Angeles and Mabalacat Mayor Marino Morales, respectively.

Angeles said that these were achieved even if the rest of the world was reeling from the ill effects of an economic downturn.

At present, Angeles said that CDC have secured a combined committed investment of P77.41 billion from 369 signed contracts. These projects are expected to generate about 27,521 workers within a year and an increase to 75,362 workers in five-year period.