PEZA, BCDA agree on regulatory arrangements for New Clark City

THE Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) and the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) have adopted an interim arrangement that will define their regulation of New Clark City.

“Under this setup, BCDA will register and regulate new developer or operator projects in New Clark City, while PEZA will oversee locator projects,” PEZA said in a Facebook post on Tuesday.

“This approach leverages BCDA’s expertise in property development and estate management alongside PEZA’s renowned one-stop shop services for locators,” it added.

PEZA Director General Tereso O. Panga said the arrangement will apply to projects in Clark Green City and will be implemented through a memorandum of agreement.

“This partnership between PEZA and BCDA not only prevents jurisdictional overlaps between the two investment promotion agencies but also capitalizes on our core competencies to attract more investors to the Philippines, particularly along the Luzon Economic Corridor,” Mr. Panga said.

Under the arrangement, BCDA will implement its overall estate planning strategy, with locators able to tap PEZA’s one-stop shop functions.

“Eventually, through our joint capacity building, we hope that BCDA will take on those same one-stop shop functions,” Mr. Panga said.

“We aim to capacitate BCDA so that in five years, they will be able to register and administer incentives according to PEZA’s model. This will also include PEZA being granted the authority to issue building permits within these zones,” he added.

PEZA also committed to assist BCDA in project registration and fiscal and non-fiscal incentive administration.

BCDA President and Chief Executive Officer Joshua M. Bingcang said that the tieup combines the two organizations’ “strengths in infrastructure development and public-private partnerships with investment facilitation.”

At the Money Talks with Cathy Yang program on One News Channel on Monday, Mr. Bingcang said two big contracts have been signed to fast-track the development of New Clark City.

“We started in January with the expansion of a 100-hectare industrial park with a Filipino-Japanese consortium. They are already in the south, and they are expanding in Clark,” he said.

“So this investment commitment is expected to generate tens of thousands of jobs. We are ready to turn over the property to them,” he added.

He added that an agreement for the first 3,000 housing units in New Clark City was also signed with South Korean partners, including the South Korean government. — Justine Irish D. Tabile