The Philippines’ Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) continues to expand transportation and utility corridors in New Clark City, Tarlac, with built roads expected to reach nearly 60 km by the end of the year.
As road and underground construction works continue, New Clark City’s road network will stretch 57.18 km by end-2025, covering almost 40% of the 148.44-km total road length planned throughout the entire development.
“One of the main elements that makes Clark so attractive to investors is its unmatched connectivity, supported by its own international airport, a nearby seaport and major expressways. But we need to further build on this connectivity and invest more on infrastructure,” said BCDA president and CEO Joshua M. Bingcang.
New Clark City’s road projects involve multiple lanes, complete with bicycle and pedestrian lanes, solar street lights and linear parks, and drainage and slope protection structures to provide residents and locators of New Clark City with convenient access to institutional, residential and mixed-use developments within the city. They also feature underground utility corridors to prepare for the needs of present and future locators in the area.
As of November 2024, about 41.48 km of New Clark City’s road network has already been completed, including the 12-km access road from New Clark City to the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway and the 19.8-km One Clark Boulevard connecting New Clark City to the Clark International Airport.
Meanwhile, 15.7 km of roads are now undergoing construction, a large part of which includes the New Clark City Connecting Road Package 2. With a total length of 10.1 km, this road package will traverse New Clark City’s industrial area, as well as the Virology and Vaccine Institute of the Philippines, and Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Complex.
Road packages 3 and 4, covering 7.5 km and 6.7 km respectively, will soon be offered for bidding. Also for procurement are connecting roads leading to New Clark City’s sports complex, residential area and the river park. Some 72.26 km of roads are also in the pipeline for future development.
Spanning 9,450 ha, New Clark City is envisioned to be the country’s first smart, sustainable and future-ready metropolis. Once fully developed, it is projected to have a population of 1.2 million and a total workforce of 600,000.
The city’s extensive road network will form the backbone of the planned transit-oriented development in the whole Clark Freeport and Special Economic Zone (SEZ), establishing robust interconnectivity within the SEZ and its neighbouring communities. This will give way to the construction of multi-modal transport hubs, which will become pivotal in driving investments and creating sustainable, active communities.
Image: BCDA
