“BCDA has allotted a record-high P8.2 billion for men and women in uniform.”

Since its establishment in 1992, the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) has become a major player in the development of various projects as well as providing assistance to the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).

Mandated to transform seven former United States military bases into bustling centers for both government and private sectors under Republic Act 7227, BCDA continues to be one of the key agencies involved in the Duterte administration’s ambitious “Build, Build, Build” project.

Now that President Rodrigo Duterte spent one-third of his term, the BCDA has been a major force in helping soldiers in the Marawi City siege.

It is currently involved in the hosting of the 2019 Southeast Asian Games.

BCDA has allotted a record-high P8.2 billion for men and women in uniform, as announced at a forum last March by BCDA president and CEO Vivencio Dizon.

The amount was 20 percent of the total P40 billion received by the Armed Forces and mainly allocated for the modernization of the AFP.

BCDA also allotted P5 million for hospitalization of 52 soldiers hurt during the Marawi siege, partnering with St. Luke’s Medical Center in Bonifacio Global City and Quezon City.

The corporation also extended its outreach program, Project Shoebox, to AFP personnel sent to troops in Marawi City – which was dubbed #OgopMarawi, which translates to “Help Marawi” in the local Meranaw language.

Some 2,000 boxes of personal care products were also distributed, which include shirts, toiletries, towels and even encouragement letters and napkins.

The company also honored the troops with “Sundalo Ko, Bayani Ko,” geared for the 120th Philippine Army Day, where soldiers can avail themselves of discounts in several establishments inside Bonifacio Global City (BGC) which was a former military base.

Troops were also honored in the commercial center with an exhibit called “Ang Huling Tikas Pahinga: Isang Pagpupugay para sa mga Bayani ng Marawi” in 2017 at the Bonifacio High Street. The exhibit honored the fallen armed personnel of the AFP, killed in action during the siege.

The “Alab ng Puso” sculpture was unveiled on 23 April this year honoring the soldiers as well as contributing elevating the historical significance of BGC as a former military base. The sculpture was launched at One Bonifacio High Street, which is a portrayal of a Filipino soldier with his weapon set aside and reading a letter from his family. Behind the sculpture is the lyrics of “Lupang Hinirang,” the country’s national anthem.

BCDA mainly focused on the 94.5-square kilometer planned community known as the New Clark City (NCC) in Capas, Tarlac.

The complex was part of the Clark Special Economic Zone, spanning the municipalities of Capas and Bamban in Tarlac, as well as Mabalacat and Porac in Pampaga, along with the Angeles City.

The entity teamed up with Malaysian-based construction firm Alloy MTD for the development of the National Government Administrative Center (NGAC).

It broke ground last January 23. Phase 1A of the 200-hectare NGAC will be used for the development of backup offices for various agencies and includes a sports complex, which was set to host the 2019 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games.

Construction began last April 25 for the sports complex, which boasts a 20,000-seater stadium and a 2,000-seater aquatic center, both built under international standards.

The P12.7-billion project is set to be completed on 15 October 2019, a month before the scheduled SEA Games.

BCDA and Japan Overseas Infrastructure Investment Corp for Transport and Urban Development (JOIN) inked a memorandum of cooperation with Singapore’s Surbana Jurong last February 12. Surbana Jurong will assist BCDA and JOIN in drafting the development management framework, design standard and environmental guidelines in accordance with NCC’s Comprehensive Master Development Plan (CMDP).

It will also help the two entities in using public-private partnerships and give advise in the implementation of pioneer NCC developers.

Filinvest Land Inc. also entered a joint venture with BCDA in the development of the 288-hectare part of NCC for industrial use last 2016 and was set to complete in 2022.

BCDA would receive P160 million from the realty firm for the project.

Last May, the state-owned firm also opened itself for bids on NCC’s utilities, which includes waterworks and power. The contract will be awarded in September.

BCDA awarded the P3.125-billion access road project to V. T. Construction and China Harbour Engineering Construction Consortium which will connect NCC to Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX).

The eight-lane access road will span 12.05 kilometers, with two interchanges, three bridges and lanes for pedestrians and bicycles.

The project, which commenced last April 19, will be completed in the third quarter of next year.

Another access road, which is 19.82 kilometers in length, will be constructed to connect NCC to Clark International Airport. The Phase 1 will cover 5.33 kilometers and projected to be P3.9 billion pesos.

Along with Department of Trasportation (DoTr), the company awarded the Clark International Airport expansion project to Pinoy construction firm Megawide and India’s GMR Infrastructure Limited. The 10.2-hectare terminal costed P9.36 billion and will serve 8 million people. Upon completion in 2020, the airport is expected to help decongest the Philippines’ main atrium to the world, NAIA.

DoTr and BCDA also opened the bidding process for the operations and maintenance of the Clark International Airport which will manage and operate the existing passenger terminal and the new terminal upon completion.

The contract will be awarded in the third quarter and projected to cost P5.6 billion.

Another project lined up is the Subic-Clark Railway, which is currently under preliminary procurement.

The project was approved by the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) and was targeted to be finished in November 2022 for about P50 billion. The railway was part of the Philippine National Railway (PNR) Luzon Development Framework, a modern take of the old PNR route and will connect the cities of Tuguegarao in Cagayan and San Fernando in La Union to Matnog, Sorsogon via the current PNR network.

The Luzon Bypass Infrastructure Network, which is a collaboration between BCDA, the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) and social media frontrunner Facebook, targets faster Internet connection.

FB will construct a submarine cable system connecting Philippines to US and Asia while the BCDA will build the 250 kilometer long cable network corridor, running from Poro Point in La Union to Baler, Aurora.

DICT will build the national backbone connecting the corridor to the rest of Luzon mainland.

Facebook will provide 2 terabits of bandwidth, almost equal to the bandwidths of PLDT and Globe combined. The said project is expected to roll out this year.

The Build, Build, Build team, composed of the Department of Budget and Management, Department of Finance, Department of Public Works and Highways, DoTr, NEDA and BCDA, have been continuously updating the progress of its projects in the Build Build Build portal (build.gov.ph) which was launched late in April 2017. Since May 29 this year, the website added a new feature, dubbed “Jobs, Jobs, Jobs,” catering to workers who want to have a job under the said infrastructure program.

BCDA is still set to roll out more projects in the coming years, which include developing the rest of the New Clark City and the planned ICONE Tower, an iconic building dedicated to the AFP.

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