Inside Asian Gaming

IAG DEC 2019年12月 亞博匯 26 COVER STORY covering 4,400 hectares including the former Clark Air Base, was designated a Freeport Zone in 2007. SOMETHING IN THE AIR The driving force behind the development of Clark Freeport Zone is the former Clark Air Base, now Clark International Airport, which at 2,400 hectares is four times larger than Manila’s Ninoy Aquino International Airport. “Right now, Clark is about 50% tourism related industry and 50% investor manufacturing, but the way it is shaping up our focus is on Clark as an MCE (Meetings, Conferences, Exhibitions) destination,” explains Noel F. Manankil, President and CEO of Clark Development Corporation (CDC) – the government FONTANA ROYCE FORTUNEGATE WIDUS D'HEIGHTS CASINO FILIPINO MIMOSA MIDORI CLARK FREEPORT ZONE CASINO MAP 克拉克自由港區娛樂場地圖 body tasked with overseeing Clark’s transformation from a military base to an economic center. “We envision Clark eventually being entirely tourism, and manufacturing will be pushed back to New Clark City (a newly planned community covering 9,450-hectares located 30km to the north and set to be linked to Clark by highway). “That’s how we see it and the main driver for this is the airport. It’s also why we see now such a rise in integrated resorts and expansion of the casinos here.” The only Freeport in the Philippines to boast an international airport, Clark’s potential as a secondary economic hub was long ago identified by the national government, even if it has taken a while for surrounding infrastructure to catch up.