Philippines’ New Clark City – Sustainable Metropolis From The Scratch for About Two Million Dwellers

Philippines' new 9,450-hectare metropolis close to Manila (Surbana Jurong)

Would you like to live in a city that is all about technology? From drones, robots, Japanese bullet trains to vehicles in auto-pilot mode, it has all to offer. But for that, you need to relocate to Philippines’ city of the future – New Clark City.

First Sustainable City to Be Built By 2022 in the Philippines

The government of Philippines is planning this $14 billion high-tech smart city to take the burden off the country’s capital, Manila, which is reeling under challenges of gridlock traffic and ever-increasing pollution. As per UN Data, the capital’s population density is 14,500 people per square kilometer which is triple than that of London. Moreover, Manila is vulnerable to floods and typhoons; New Clark City is planned to be sustainable and eco-friendly and free of the country’s current problems. Similar to the green Liuzhou Forest City in China or Forest City in Malaysia, New Clark City is completely planned from scratch.

Also called Clark Green City, it is situated 100 km away from Manila within the Clark Special Economic Zone. A Japanese company is employed to design train connectivity between both the cities, which will bring down the commute time to one hour from the current three hours. Spread over 23,400 acres, New Clark City lies in the land-locked Tarlac province with its development managed by the state-run Bases Conversion and Development Authority. It is planned to be home to two million people and is expected to contribute $30 billion to the country’s economy yearly.

Manila-Clark Railway designed to transport up to 350,000 passengers daily

President Rodrigo Duterte plans to design a city that is resilient to climate changes and natural calamities. He also wants to decentralize the government offices away from the capital’s traffic jams, which would cause a loss of $155 million per day to the city’s productivity by 2030, as found out by a Japanese government study. According to Bloomberg, Duterte even means that the capital Manila will be dead in 25 years.

“The vision is to build a new thriving city outside Metro Manila that’s well-planned, future-proof,” said Vince Dizon, president of the Bases Conversion Development Authority. “We will slowly move some government activities to Clark to pump-prime the city.”

The government of the Sout-East Asian island nation is investing $1 billion along with private companies to build a 200-hectare administrative block that will act as office space for the government employees. The city will have at least eight government buildings and 8000 houses in the five years from the scheduled launch in 2022. Also, it will have an industrial park to be developed by Filinvest Land Inc. and a sports complex. However, all the infrastructure will be housed only on one-third land, which is planned to be developed. The rest two-thirds is intended to be kept in open and green spaces.

By 2020, the city will also have its airport that can handle 12 million travelers annually. Bases Conversion plans to get funding for the project by selling 60 hectares of land near the Makati financial district, the prices of which are at a record high.

“We need to strike a balance between fast-paced development that maximizes value for the private sector, and protecting open spaces and making the city walkable, green and resilient,” said Vince Dizon, president of the state-run Bases Conversion Development Authority. “Traditional development cannot overwhelm or overpower the area,” he said. “For New Clark City, here lies the challenge.”