Alloy MTD on track to finish Clark facility for SEA Games

CLARK, Pampanga , Philippines  —   Construction firm Alloy MTD Philippines said it is on track toward completing the construction of a sports facility in New Clark City ahead of the Southeast Asian Games later this year.

In an interview with reporters, Alloy MTD Philippines president Patrick Nicholas David said the construction of the facility is already 80 percent complete and is on schedule to be finished by Aug. 31.

“We are on track in meeting the actual deadline set by the government of finishing it by Oct. 15. We are actually eyeing to meet our self-imposed deadline of Aug. 31, or within the next 73 days. We just want to be ahead of the curve,” David said.

Alloy MTD is targeting to complete the sports facility early in preparation for the country’s hosting of the biennial SEA Games in November.

David said the company is working 24/7 in order to meet its self-imposed deadline.

The facility, which started construction on March 15, 2018, includes a 20,000-seater Athletics Stadium and a 2,000-seater Aquatics Center.

David said other countries have also asked the company if they would be allowed to use the facility after the SEA Games for their preparations for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan.

“We were also approached by some countries to train their athletes here before heading to Tokyo for the Olympics,” David said. He, however, did not mention the countries that have expressed interest to use the facility.

The new sports facilities are part of Phase 1A of the New Clark City National Government Administrative Center (NGAC).

Aside from the stadium, the sports complex also includes an Athletes’ Village, surrounded by a 1.4-kilometer river park development with bikeways and jogging paths.

Philippine officials, together with a Japanese delegation led by Hiroto Izumi, special advisor to Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, toured the construction site recently.

Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez said the progress made in the facility reflects the “excellent” management of Alloy MTD and the Bases Conversion and Development Authority.

“This is the result of good planning and excellent management. They gave themselves enough time, from August to October, to do a test run, so I think it gives them enough time to correct any mistakes or things that were not foreseen,” he said.

The finance chief said the government is also considering to develop a food production zone in NGAC, which will house facilities such as greenhouses, poultry farms and others.