THE Clark Development Corp. said it approved over P60 billion worth of projects in the first half of the year.
“For the first half, we were able to generate P44.4 billion in the first quarter and then an additional P20 billion, so that’s P64.4 billion in the first half,” CDC President and Chief Executive Officer Agnes VST Devanadera told reporters.
She said that the investment approvals cover projects across the leisure, recreation, and manufacturing industries.
CDC operates the Clark Freeport Zone and the Clark Special Economic Zone, which currently hosts 1,153 locators.
Separately, Ms. Devanadera said that three hotels are expected to open within Clark next year.
“The 600-room Hilton will open partially by April and be fully operational by the end of next year, while the other two hotels will open by the first quarter of next year,” she said.
“The other two are boutique hotels. One is Wyndham, its first in the Philippines, and the other one is Filipino owned, from the Henry Hotel group” she added.
She said that these new hotels will address the need for more hotel rooms within the Clark Freeport Zone.
“We have 4,100 hotel rooms ready, but they are not yet sufficient to address the demand,” she said.
The CDC is also set to conduct a competition for the design of a convention center to be built near the parade ground.
“It’s a 5.4-hectare convention center, and within the next two months we will be conducting the competition for the design,” she added. — Justine Irish D. Tabile