MANILA, Philippines — The Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) and Singapore’s enterprise development government agency recently held a second round of business-to-business (B2B) meetings in Singapore to move forward with the implementation of plans and projects for New Clark City.
In a statement over the weekend, the BCDA, along with Enterprise Singapore said it recently held meetings and industry-focused meetings in Singapore with some of the region’s urban development leaders to move forward with the implementation of its plans and projects for New Clark City.
It added that meetings were pursuant to the memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed during the State Visit of President Marcos in September, which aims to foster collaboration on business or investment opportunities in New Clark City, technologies exchange, and bilateral promotions of businesses.
Among the companies they conducted meetings within Singapore are in the fields of diversified environmental services, engineering, information and communications technology (ICT), aviation solutions and smart city technologies.
“As urbanization continues, we at BCDA understand that smart city technologies and public transport solutions are important in realizing a sustainable and inclusive future for New Clark City,” BCDA president and chief executive officer (CEO) Aileen Zosa said.
“We are very fortunate to partner with Enterprise Singapore who helps us forge connections with some of the global urban mobility and smart city leaders. Through their expertise and experience, we will be able to embed global best practices not just in New Clark City, but across all the infrastructure projects we are developing,” she said.
Among the New Clark City projects pitched during the meetings were the common ICT Infrastructure Network, the Data Center Colocation Facility Project, the New Clark City Affordable Housing Project, the New Clark City Estate and Facilities Management Services, as well as the operations and maintenance of New Clark City’s Sports Facilities.
The BCDA said its MOU with Enterprise Singapore enables it to increase its understanding of emerging technologies and solutions used in urban development via knowledge sharing and awareness building activities.
It added that the MOU also facilitates access for Singapore companies and relevant stakeholders interested to partner in the development of New Clark City.
On the sidelines of the second round of B2B meetings in Singapore, the BCDA delegation also attended the recently-concluded 2022 Singapore International Transport Congress and Exhibition (SITCE), the leading public transport event in Asia Pacific, where it gathered over 130 urban mobility innovators across the globe.
The BCDA said earlier that the MOU with Enterprise Singapore aims to foster greater collaboration in the development of the 9,450-hectare New Clark City in Capas, Tarlac.
“With Singapore as a global frontrunner in the area of smart city development, we at BCDA are very fortunate to have Enterprise SG as our partner to facilitate knowledge exchange and link us with Singaporean firms who have the experience and expertise in the field,” Zosa said earlier.
“This MOU will surely be instrumental in achieving our goal of developing New Clark City into a smart, green, sustainable and highly liveable metropolis,” she said.
The BCDA said the MOU intends to create a framework that will allow the two parties to explore potential collaborative opportunities in the development of New Clark City, particularly in priority areas, such as affordable housing, estate management, transportation, solid waste management, waste-to-energy technology, smart cities, sustainability, green data centers, and urban development and people-centric programs.
“Both parties will participate in knowledge sharing and awareness building activities to increase understanding of emerging technologies and solutions used in urban development, especially in response to the pandemic,” the BCDA said.
The MOU was signed by Zosa and Enterprise SG CEO Png Cheong Boon at the Istana in Singapore, with President Marcos and Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong as witnesses.