Saturday, May 03, 2008 CDC eyes sub-zone as frontier of investors By Reynaldo G. Navales
CLARK FREEPORT -- Preparations are underway to make the Clark Sub-zone as the next frontier for investors here, officials of Clark Development Corporation (CDC) said.
CDC Business Development Group Assistant Vice President Bernardo Angeles Jr. said the state-owned corporation is now preparing the master development plan for the development of a 10,684-hectare area of the 27,000-hectare Clark Sub-zone.
He said the area identified in the Clark Sub-zone master development plan is more than twice the size of the 4,400-hectare Clark Freeport.
Angeles noted that there is a strong demand for land from both local and foreign businesses that plan on investing inside the Clark Freeport.
He added that the CDC "wants to put premium in the pricing of land" inside the Freeport.
CDC President Liberato P. Laus earlier described the Clark Sub-zone as a new frontier for investors, eyeing the former United States military installation for their business operations.
"Clark has opened a new frontier with the conclusion of a Joint Management Agreement between CDC and the Aeta tribes, validated by the National Commission for Indigenous Peoples (NCIP). This agreement has freed 10,684 hectares for development with the Aeta tribes receiving a generous share from the lease proceeds," Laus said in his speech.
This was shared by Asialuxe Philippines senior vice president Wilfredo Rivera, who recently signed a lease agreement for its $1.6-million expansion project here.
Rivera said "there is money in circulation" noting that Chinese investors "are scouting for areas "where to put their money."
He added that with the development of more lands in Clark, the CDC would be able to entice more local and foreign businesses to locate at the Clark Freeport and the sub-zone.
The Clark Sub-zone is also known as the Clark Special Economic Zone, which is under the jurisdiction of the Philippine Export Processing Zone (Peza) by way of Republic Act 9400 or "an Act Amending RA 7227, as amended, otherwise known as the Bases Conversion and Development Act of 1992 and for Other Purposes."
On December 6, 2007, the CDC, NCIP, and Aeta tribes signed a Joint Management Agreement (JMA) that allows both CDC and Aetas to profit from the development of 10,684 hectares of the Clark Sub-zone.
Under the agreement, the CDC will receive 80 percent of the net income generated from the rentals of Ancestral Domain areas while the Aetas will get a 20 percent share.
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