CLARK FREEPORT -- The Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) said on Friday the proposal to decongest Metro Manila should be included as one of the major political discourse leading up to next year's presidential election.
During the Bale Balitaan roundtable discussion with members of the Capampangan in Media, Inc. (CAMI), BCDA president and chief executive officer Arnel Paciano Casanova said plans to ease the congestion in Metro Manila must be included in the programs of governance of presidential candidates which may include the transfer of other key industries and major public offices into other regions.
The BCDA chief presented the Clark Green City project as a viable alternative to host vital public offices and key private sector institutions outside Metro Manila.
Clark Green City is a 9,450-hectare master planned property within the Clark Special Economic Zone, approximately half the size of Metro Manila, eyed to be the country's first smart, green, and disaster-resilient metropolis.
"The respective platforms for next year's elections will surely point to improving the lives of Filipinos. But if we truly wish to achieve quality of life, let us work toward easing the congestion in Metro Manila," Casanova said.
Casanova cited a recent report by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) that Metro Manila loses roughly Php2.4 billion daily due to congestion.
The CGC, which is expected to start this year, can accommodate a projected population of 1.2 million, combining new and existing settlers as well as resettled residents.
"Our future national leaders need to initiate efforts to arrest urban decay, to resolve a host of perennial traffic and transportation challenges, and to develop another metropolis which is sustainable and disaster-resilient in the face of the global threat of climate change," Casanova added.
Asked on the viability of a major plan to ease Metro Manila's congestion, Casanova said all it takes is "a well-crafted plan and good governance to ensure its success.
The BCDA chief also said that a decongested Metro Manila will decisively prevent a catastrophic aftermath of a major calamity that may incur tens of thousands of casualties and trillions of pesos in economic losses.
The Green City is within Central Luzon, a region poised for metropolitan development.
The city is situated near Clark's airport, industrial area and hectares of idle land far from flood and earthquake hazard zones.
Central Luzon is also linked to the Subic Freeport Zone through the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX), a modern tollroad built by the BCDA.
"We look forward to the Green City as the focal point in plans to ease the congestion in the metropolis. This will be the catalyst for economic growth of surrounding localities leading to an enhanced equitable distribution of development across the country," Casanova said.
CGC is expected to generate billions in investments and generate about 800,000 new jobs.
In a joint project with Pag-IBIG (Home Mortgage and Development Fund), the BCDA will also bid out the construction of at least 2,000 units of low cost housing units intended as residences for wage earners.
The BCDA earlier offered free lots inside the CGC for government agencies to use in establishing back-up offices to ensure uninterrupted delivery of services even in the event of a major calamity.
As in recent months, flooding in urban centers also results to a chain of disruptive events, foremost of which is traffic gridlock, Casanova said.
, The BCDA, he added, looks forward to a flood-free CGC where the giant cistern used in the posh Bonifacio Global City in Taguig, also one of BCDA's flagship projects, will be replicated in the Green City.
The Gotianun-owned Filinvest Land Inc. has signed a joint venture deal last January 6 with the BCDA for the development of a 288-hectare estate in CGC.
Based on the terms of the joint venture, FLI will incorporate an industrial zone and a mixed-use development for residential, office, commercial and institutional elements.