Posted on February 19, 2015 10:55:00
PM [ BusinessWorld Online ]
By Chrisee J. V. Dela Paz, Reporter
STATE-OWNED Bases Conversion and
Development Authority (BCDA) has begun looking for a joint venture (JV) partner
to help develop a portion of Clark Green City it is building in the former US
airbase straddling the provinces of Pampanga and Tarlac, according to a notice
it published in a newspaper yesterday.
In that bid bulletin, BCDA said the
development of the first parcel, or the 254-hectare (ha) portion, of the
9,450-ha Clark Green City will be under a JV corporation, where it will have a
45% stake.
The winning bidder will own 55% of the
JV company, and must infuse an initial paid-up capital of P2.5 billion.
But BCDA Vice-President for Financial
Services Group Nena D. Radoc said in a mobile phone interview on Thursday that
the “total value of the joint venture will be determined after it (BCDA) finds
a partner.”
“The 55% share of the private partner
doesn’t equate to the P2.5 billion.
The amount is just the initial paid-up
capital,” Ms. Radoc told BusinessWorld.
“We will determine the total JV cost
once we find a partner.”
The BCDA said in its notice that
interested local or foreign real estate developers should have “a proven track
record in the development, marketing, management and leasing of large property
mixed-use development,” and pay a minimum premium of P500 million, which is on
top of the initial capital of the JV corporation.
“The eligible bidder who offers the
highest premium will be declared the winning bidder, subject to
post-qualification,” BCDA said in the notice.
PIECEMEAL
Envisioned to be the country’s first
smart, green and disaster-resilient metropolis, BCDA said Clark Green City is a
9,450-ha master-planned property within the Clark Special Economic Zone.
The terms of reference for the
contract will be made available to interested bidders from Feb. 26 to April 15
for a non-refundable fee of P200,000.
BCDA President and Chief Executive
Officer Arnel Paciano D. Casanova had said last Feb. 13 that the terms of
reference were for release on Feb. 19.
Financial markets and government
offices were closed for a public holiday yesterday.
At the time, Mr. Casanova had said the
contracts for Clark Green City will be bid out piecemeal, with three of the
five segments making up the 1,250-ha first phase -- each measuring 200-300 ha
-- to be auctioned off this year.
A pre-bid conference will be held on
March 16, wherein the property, the terms of reference and inquiries from
interested bidders will be discussed.
“We hope to open bids and announce the
winning bidder within first half of the year,” Mr. Casanova said in a separate
phone interview yesterday.
The envisioned mixed-use area will
have five districts, namely: government district; central business district;
academic district; agro-forestry research and development district; as well as
wellness, recreation and eco-tourism district.
The master plan project for the entire
Clark Green City was approved by the National Economic and Development
Authority Board in May last year, while a $1.7-million feasibility study is
under way for the Food Processing Terminal Project there under the government’s
flagship public-private partnership program.
A study last
year by the Japan International Cooperation Agency on ways to decongest Metro
Manila said: “Clark Green City is expected to serve the core for development of
the regional cluster in Central and Northern Luzon.”
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