DOF encourages Japan-Phl tie-ups for New Clark City

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Finance (DOF) is encouraging Filipino and Japanese enterprises to form partnerships to help develop New Clark City (NCC) into a smart city, promoting innovation and advanced industries.

In his speech during the Philippines-Japan seminar on New Clark City last week, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez expressed confidence that the cooperation between Filipino and Japanese firms would enable NCC to emerge as an advanced and technology-driven metropolis.

“The New Clark City we imagine is not just any other township. This will be a city prepared for the future, a community driven by technology and the most forward-looking industries,” Dominguez said.

“The city we imagine can be made a reality through the cooperation between Filipinos and Japanese enterprises. By pooling our talents together, learning from each other, I am sure we will generate the synergy required to make the New Clark City better than our present visioning allows us to grasp,” he said.

The seminar dubbed “New Clark City With Japan,” was conducted to encourage new Philippine and Japanese business partnerships and introduce smart city solutions in developing NCC.

It was organized by the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) in partnership with the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA), which is overseeing NCC’s development.

Dominguez thanked JETRO and BCDA for organizing the seminar and bringing together experts who shared their visions for NCC.

“I look forward to the smart city solutions we will be acquainted with today as well as the business partnerships we have encouraged between Japanese and Filipino companies,” Dominguez said. 

The New Clark City project is considered as the centerpiece of the Duterte administration’s Build Build Build program.

It features three main structures, namely the P1.78 billion Clark Green City Government Center, P850 million Clark Commercial Center, and the P3.33 billion Clark Mixed-Income Housing.    

The city would also include a National Government Administrative Center which would host the main offices of several government agencies and house back-up facilities for all state offices to ensure operational continuity in the event of a major calamity in the Manila area.

World-class sports facilities will also be built within the city in time for the country’s hosting of the Southeast Asian Games in November next year.

Aside from the development of New Clark City, the government is also planning the construction of railways going to Subic and to Manila and the expansion of the Clark International Airport (CIA).

Dominguez said New Clark City, as well as other infrastructure projects, was made possible through various factors, including the strong fiscal space of the government and the financing assistance provided by the country’s development partners, like Japan.

The finance chief reiterated that the government’s economic strategy, anchored on Build Build Build, is expected to help the country achieve inclusive growth and bring down the poverty rate.

He also assured Japanese partners that the country’s economic growth would sustain its momentum in the medium term.

“I am sure expectations are high, especially among our international partners. Let me take this opportunity to assure all of you that we have both the will and the competence to create a dynamic economy in the medium term. The Philippines will continue its emergence as a growth leader and a center for innovation in the region,” he said.