CLARK FREEPORT -- The 2,000-seater Aquatic Center in New Clark City will be ready for use next month as its construction nears completion — already at 90 percent — well ahead of the Philippines’ hosting of the 30th Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games).
The Aquatic Center has a 10-lane competition pool, an eight-lane training pool and a diving pool with a five-meter maximum depth, and meets the global standards of the Fédération Internationale de Natation (FINA).
“Our hardworking athletes deserve training facilities that are world-class. We hope the New Clark City sports complex will inspire and motivate our athletes in the upcoming SEA Games,” said Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) president and CEO Vince Dizon.
Dizon added that the facilities in New Clark City will be the first major sports hub constructed by the government since the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex built more than eight decades ago or in 1934.
The Aquatic Center’s design took inspiration from baklad or woven fish nets of local fishermen, as well as Capiz shells used in traditional Filipino architecture.
Aside from the Aquatic Center, the New Clark City sports complex also includes a 20,000-seater Athletic Stadium and an Athletes’ Village. The sports complex is part of the development’s Phase 1A or the National Government Administrative Center (NGAC), which also hosts government buildings and a condominium-type housing for government employees.
Clark will be the main hub of the 30th SEA Games hosted by the Philippines from November 30 to December 11, 2019.
BCDA and its project partner, infrastructure developer MTD Philippines, have assured the completion of New Clark City Phase 1A by end of August.