The Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) is a step closer towards the completion of its over PHP3-billion plan to relocate and modernize the housing and support facilities of the Philippine Air Force (PAF).
The PAF housing and support facilities will be relocated to a 65-hectare site in New Clark City.
“We are now procuring the civil works for the site development of a 65-hectare relocation site for the PAF housing facilities. In short, we have already finished and completed the detailed architectural and engineering design of the PAF housing facilities,” BCDA president and chief executive officer Vince Dizon said in a statement Thursday.
In addition to the PAF housing facilities, BCDA is also in the process of preparing the detailed architectural and engineering design of the new PAF operational facilities to be relocated in the 146-hectare near Omni area.
Dizon said BCDA is actively engaging with the PAF to ensure that the new PAF operational facilities comply with their requirements.
“From the PAF housing, you can go to New Clark City in 10 to 15 minutes, and to Clark International Airport in 10 to 15 minutes using an access road. Works are ongoing for a 20-kilometer access road and this will be finished by next year. From SCTEX (Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway), it will only take you less than 30 minutes to get to New Clark City. We made sure the PAF housing site will be accessible via the major thoroughfares,” he said.
In August 2019, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana and Dizon signed a memorandum of agreement for the relocation of PAF’s housing and operational areas to Clark.
“To continue our commitment of helping strengthen AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) and promote national development, we at BCDA will always look for ways to transform former military bases and properties into premier centers of economic growth with the help of our private sector partners,” Dizon said.
He said BCDA will double its efforts to raise much-needed revenues for the government amid the financial debacle posed by the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic.
“Our mandate to strengthen the capabilities of the Armed Forces of the Philippines transcends all threats. However, by building modern cities in partnership with the private sector, we strive to continuously raise more funds for the modernization of the AFP as well as provide for the welfare of our troops and the entire nation especially in this difficult period,” Dizon said.
BCDA has so far remitted to the Bureau of Treasury and completed about PHP11 billion worth of replication projects and PHP38 billion for the modernization program of the AFP.
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Stay updated with news and information from the BCDA by visiting their website at bcda.gov.ph.
