CDC chief bares 2006 goals for Clark ecozone

CLARK FIELD, Pampanga — "Asia’s most affordable gateway, airport para sa masa (for the masses)."

This, according to Clark Development Corp. (CDC) president and chief executive officer Antonio Ng, is one of their objectives for 2006 for the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA) and the rest of the Clark special economic zone.

In a report, Ng cited an offer from a Kuwaiti group to construct a world-class passenger terminal at the DMIA, which now hosts 39 international flights weekly.

He bared plans to "grow further to 70 flights per week in 2006 by encouraging more low-cost carrier flights."

Ng also announced plans to expand the existing passenger terminal to accommodate two planes at the same time, with aero bridge provisions, "and adding commercial space for increased non-airline revenue streams for completion by June 2008."

The CDC and the Clark International Airport Corp. (CIAC) are slated to review and finally sign an agreement with the Kuwaiti group, he said.

The project will be under the build-operate-transfer (BOT) scheme, he said.

At present, the DMIA uses a small terminal, formerly used by the US military, which can accommodate only about 1.5 million passengers per year.

Ng said the Kuwaiti group is also planning to fund the development of a 300-hectare "technopark" here.

This may be done alongside the development of another 80 hectares for a Taiwanese or Korean industrial park.

These parks, he said, could double the number of ecozone workers from the current 36,000.

Ng said the two new projects have been firmed up for implementation in 2006, including the P885-million commercial pilot training center to be put up by the International Aviation Group, and a P1-billion casino to be established by the Paradise Island Group.

He said the pilot training center is expected to be fully operational by May or June, while the 12-month construction of the casino, which is expected to employ 600 people, will start this January.

Ng said Transglobal Airways will start two express cargo flights to Xiamen, China and Taipei, Taiwan with an initial P660 million investment that could create 100 new jobs.

With more tourists expected in 2006, two more hotels — Raffles and Fort Stotsenberg — are slated to open, he said.

Ng also bared plans to finally revive the mothballed Expo Pilipino, now called Clark Expo, by inviting investors to develop Ancient Island, Colonial Island, Global Village, and Prosperity Plaza, among other facilities in the theme park.

A grand carnival will be set up in the park for its grand opening in April.

Ng also expressed confidence that by mid-2006, the Mimosa leisure estate, whose operations the CDC took over in 1998 amid differences with its developer, the Mimosa Leisure and Resorts Corp. (MLRC), will be turned over to one of the initial 10 bidders.

This, amid plans for a new investor for the abandoned 36-hole golf course at the Hacienda project here.

Ng also vowed to help Aeta communities within and around Clark, particularly in Sitio Target in Barangay Sapang Bato in Angeles City, by funding a mushroom project that could provide 222 Aeta families with a monthly income of P10,000 each. — Ding Cervantes