New Clark City

New Clark City is a planned community under development located within the Clark Special Economic Zone in the towns of Capas and Bamban at the Tarlac province, Philippines.[1] It has an area of approximately 9,450 hectares (23,400 acres) and will accommodate up to 1.2 million people. It is managed by the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA). NCC is patterned after the development of Putrajaya, the federal administrative capital of Malaysia.[2]

Not to be confused with Clark Freeport and Special Economic Zone or Clark Global City.
New Clark City
Planned community
Coordinates: 15°19′20.2″N 120°30′21.4″E
Country Philippines
RegionCentral Luzon
ProvinceTarlac
MunicipalityCapas
Bamban
Economic zoneClark Special Economic Zone
Managing entityBases Conversion and Development Authority
Area
 • Total94.50 km2 (36.49 sq mi)
Highest elevation
800 m (2,600 ft)
Lowest elevation
54 m (177 ft)
Time zoneUTC+8 (PST)
Websitenewclarkcityph.com

Naming
Logo of the community as Clark Green City.

The project was named "Clark" for marketing purposes for potential investors in the area. This naming decision was made despite being located in Tarlac and not in Pampanga (the location of the already existing Clark Freeport Zone) due to the latter being more known to foreign investors. The BCDA compared this with the situation of the Subic Bay Freeport Zone, which was Olongapo and Morong, Bataan, and not in Subic, Zambales.[3]

During the Duterte administration, the planned city was renamed from "Clark Green City" to "New Clark City".

History
Groundbreaking ceremony.

New Clark City, previously known as Clark Green City was first presented by the Bases Conversion Development Authority (BCDA) under the administration of then-president Arnel Casonova in 2012. The then-proposal was met with skepticism from some high-ranking government officials due to the development's proposed location being remote. Casanova envisioned a development with wide and tree-shaded pedestrian lanes. He also envisioned the development to be free of gated communities to discourage heavy traffic.[4]

The BCDA held a design competition for the master conceptual development plan for Clark Green City with AECOM coming up with the winning design in 2015. After the Casanova's tenure as BCDA ended he joined AECOM as the firm's representative in the Philippines.[4]

In March 2015, the Philippine Congress approved House Resolution 116 in support of Clark Green City.[5]

The development is under the BCDA. The BCDA signed a 50-year contract with Filinvest to develop the 288 hectares (710 acres) of land allocated for the project. BCDA also managed to make partnership with foreign firms to develop Clark Green City such as Japan Overseas Infrastructure Investment Corp. which plans to connect Clark Green City to Manila as well as surrounding cities by rail, and IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute which will assist the BCDA to come up with "smart and disaster-resilient" features for the planned community. An agreement was also signed between Paris-based Vivapolis.[6]

Groundbreaking and construction (2016-present)

The groundbreaking rites for New Clark City, led by then-President Benigno Aquino III was made in April 11, 2016.[7] The development became one of the flagship projects of President Rodrigo Duterte, the succeeding President.[8] In March 2018, the development of Phase 1-A of the National Government Administrative Center which consists of the New Clark City Sports Complex began and would serve as one of the venues to the country's hosting of the 2019 Southeast Asian Games. The sports facilities were completed in record time in time for the games.[9]

Geography
Capas National Shrine at the entrance to New Clark City

New Clark City spans an area of 9,450 hectares (23,400 acres) and is located within the former U.S. military base of Camp O'Donnell.[10] The development is located in the municipalities of Capas and Bamban, Tarlac province[1] although it is administered from Angeles, Pampanga as part of the Clark Special Economic Zone.[11] Out of 9,450 hectares of the city, only 3,500 hectares will be developed, leaving the rest for green and open spaces, making it a green city.[4]

The development is not a flood-prone area with its minimum elevation being at 54 metres (177 ft) above sea level[12] and its planned central park also serves as a flood catchment basin. The Sierra Madre mountain range is located on the development's east while the Zambales mountain range is located on the west, with both geographical features providing New Clark City a natural protection from typhoons.[7] The maximum elevation of New Clark City is at around 800 metres (2,600 ft).[12]

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology has assessed the area to be relatively less prone to earthquakes.[12]

Districts

New Clark City will be divided into various districts depending on primary function.[10] As of 2019, there are two official districts with ongoing development.

Demographics

It is planned that the New Clark City will accommodate about 1.12 million residents and 800 thousand workers.[7]

Sports
The New Clark City Athletics Stadium.

The New Clark City Sports Hub located within the National Government Administrative Center contains an athletes' village, an aquatics center and a 20,000-seater athletics stadium. New Clark City was one of the host cities of the 2019 Southeast Asian Games, which took place all over Luzon. The closing ceremony was held in the Athletics Stadium.[14] The said sporting facilities will also serve as the venues for the Aquatics and Athletics events in the 2020 ASEAN Para Games[15]

In December 2019, BCDA, the Asian Swimming Federation, Philippine Swimming and Philippine Sports Commission signed a partnership agreement for the country’s hosting of the 2020 Asian Swimming Championships which will be held in New Clark City.[16][17]

In 2020, the National Academy of Sports (NAS) system, a soon-to-be government-run sports academy was established with the signing of Republic Act No. 11470 on June 9, 2020 by President Rodrigo Duterte. The NAS is a body attached to the Department of Education. The main campus will be set up at the New Clark City Sports Complex in Capas, Tarlac.[18]

Transportation

Land

The planned PNR North–South Commuter Railway will connect New Clark City to the capital, Manila.

New Clark City will also be served by the Subic–Clark–Tarlac Expressway and Central Luzon Link Expressway specifically through the 6.98 km (4.34 mi) six-lane New Clark City-Mac Arthur Access Road which will connect the NCC to MacArthur Highway.[19]

Air

NCC is served by the Clark International Airport in Pampanga.

See also

Notes
  1. A Joint Venture Agreement between BCDA and Filinvest Land Inc. for 288-hectare portion of NCC.

References
  1. Datu, Carlo Lorenzo (23 January 2018). "Construction of National Government Administrative Center in New Clark City begins". Philippine Information Agency. Retrieved 30 December 2019. New Clark City, BCDA’s most ambitious project to date, is a new metropolis that will rise within the Clark Special Economic Zone, in Capas and Bamban, Tarlac.
  2. Del Rosario, Marna Dagumboy (February 22, 2019). "P120-B New Clark City Phase 1A completed in Oct". Philippine News Agency. Retrieved March 13, 2019.
  3. "Construction of P1.7-T Clark Green City to start next year - BCDA". InterAksyon. Philippines News Agency. 13 December 2015. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
  4. Canivel, Roy Stephen C. "'Crazy' New Clark City dream moves closer to reality". business.inquirer.net.
  5. "Clark Green City Approved by Congress". Clark Green City. Bases Conversion and Development Authority. 21 March 2015. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
  6. Cervantes, Ding (21 January 2016). "Clark Green City insulated from politics, says BCDA". The Philippine Sta. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
  7. Kabiling, Genalyn (11 April 2016). "P607-billion Clark Green City to rise soon, expected to be bigger than BGC". Manila Bulletin. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
  8. "New Clark City short on US participation — DoF". BusinessWorld. 13 September 2018. Retrieved 11 October 2018.
  9. Go, Beatrice. "2019 SEA Games: World-class New Clark City stadium built in 'record time'". Rappler.
  10. "Clark Green City". Invest Philippines. Philippine Government. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
  11. "Green City is in Tarlac, not Pampanga, UP prof says". The Daily Tribune. 4 June 2014. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
  12. Remo, Amy (17 February 2018). "Rise of the new city". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved 10 May 2018.
  13. "Filinvest breaks ground for green, future-ready township in New Clark City". Bases Conversion and Development Authority. 8 May 2019. Retrieved 11 September 2019.
  14. "30th SEA Games officially closes in New Clark City". GMA News Online.
  15. Navarro, June. "Preps for PH Asean Para Games 2020 hosting 'on track'". sports.inquirer.net.
  16. "New Clark City to host Asian swimming championships". December 9, 2019.
  17. "PH to host 11th Asian Swimming Championships in 2020". cnn.
  18. Parrocha, Azer (June 11, 2020). "PH sports academy to help develop world-class athletes: Andanar". pna.gov.ph. Philippine News Agency. Retrieved June 23, 2020.
  19. Atencio, Peter (27 November 2018). "New Clark City-Mac Arthur Access Road". Manila Standard. Retrieved 27 November 2018.

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