top of page

BCDA New Clark City The New Frontier

Mayor Aleli-3

Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) President and Chief Executive Officer Vivencio Dizon unveils their latest pride and paints a picture of what’s to come at the New Clark City.

BY MARIDOL RAÑOA-BISMARK

Mayor Aleli-1

PHOTOGRAPHY BY ROMEO PERALTA, JR.

Everything is on the move, and the air is rife with
excitement at New Clark City, located within the Clark Special Economic Zone in Pampanga. Cranes, bulldozers, and other heavy equipment hum gently under the glistening sun. Mounds of earth and pebbles dot the landscape, silent witnesses to a future worth waiting for.

Vivencio Dizon, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA), surveys the landscape like a captain pleased at his seaworthy ship. His eyes, squinting against the sizzling sun, twinkle with the excitement of someone on the brink of a great adventure.

“This is BCDA’s number one project,” he says with a smile. “It’s the first phase of New Clark City, which spans 32,000 hectares, or half of Metro Manila. It’s not just a city. It’s a metropolis with a full master plan.”

That master plan is huge to the point of mind-boggling, especially to people from a developing country, where constant traffic, pollution, and flooding are a given. New Clark City has most everything you can ask for in a place you dream of calling your own. Dizon tells us why.

GETTING READY FOR THE BIG LEAGUE
The proposed new airport (BCDA’s second biggest project) will sit on a 110,000 sq. meter area, with far more flights than the current 720-plus domestic and international ones. Dizon
and his staff have set a June 2020 deadline for this project, which will surely bring in more tourists, and even more prosperity to the city. As of press time, Dizon says the new airport is already 60 percent done.

The BCDA chief points to a multi-layered, avant-garde structure whose gigantic V-shaped posts hold up a wave- shaped roof. This is the future Aquatic Center, where lovers of water sports like swimming, diving, and water polo can go. It is the proud holder of a certification from FINA (Fédération Internationale de Natation), which the International Olympic Committee has tasked to oversee international water sports
competitions. This means that the Aquatic Center can host international competitions in swimming and other water sports—another big boost to the country’s tourism efforts.

j2.png
bottom of page