Thursday, 26 November 2009 00:00 [ manilatimes.net ]
The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) said it is pushing for the allocation of an expansion fund that would bankroll the development of additional economic zones in Central Luzon. Armand Arreza, SBMA administrator, said this P2-billion fund would “speed up” the creation of new eco-zones, as proposed during a meeting with the Bases Conversion and Development Authority, Clark Development Corp. (CDC), and Senate Committee on Government Corporations and Public Enterprises.
Earlier, the committee filed Senate Bill 143, or “3-3-1 Luzon Global Corridor Act of 2009,” which calls for the development of new special economic zones in Luzon to optimize the airports in Manila, Clark and Subic.
This also includes the seaports in Manila, Mariveles in Bataan, and Subic, and highways and railways linking major ports.
This bill also seeks to grant SBMA and CDC a mandate to develop nearby areas into new eco-zones.
Under Senate Bill 143, areas in Bataan, Pangasinan, Tarlac and Zambales would be developed into sites fit for industrial parks for factories, light- to medium-, and heavy-industries.
“To carry out their new mandate of developing nearby communities, Subic and Clark would require a tremendous amount of annual investments in the next 10 years to fund various public infrastructures, such as roads, water and sewerage systems, as well as technical schools that would help reduce skills mismatch,” Arreza said.
He said the present business model of Subic and Clark is “to a certain level, very limited, as they rely primarily on leases or income from land, which is a finite resource.”
Arreza said a bill would be filed in Senate that would set aside part of the taxes collected by SBMA and CDC in the next 20 years to develop more eco-zones near the area.
Earmarking a part of Subic and Clark’s incomes for infrastructure development within the area would make this growth corridor to be constantly competitive, SBMA said.
BEN ARNOLD O. DE VERA
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