Government mulls integrated Subic-Clark development

The Arroyo government is seriously considering a proposal to enter into a joint venture agreement with the Singaporean firm, Temasek Holdings Limited, to develop the Clark and Subic freeports into an economic hub for Luzon.

The proposal came from former Clark Development Corp. (CDC) chairman Rufo Colayco who said government should seriously consider a joint venture with Temasek or some other corporation, to jointly develop and administer both Clark and Subic.

Colayco’s proposal is to link Clark and Subic through a highway network that will be lined up by industrial and service centers as well as a residential area.

Government counterpart funding for the development of the project, Colayco said, could be sourced from the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC).

Temasek owns and manages the Singapore government’s direct investments in a wide spectrum of industries ranging from transportation, ship repair and engineering, power and gas, telecommunications, media, financial services, properties and hotels, property management and consultancy, construction to leisure and recreation.

The group has assets in excess of $70 billion.

Companies under Temasek’s control include DBS Bank, Keppel Corp., Neptune Orient Lines, PSA Corp., Sembcorp Industries, Singapore Airlines, Singapore MRT, Singapore Power, Singapore Technologies and Singapore Telecommunications.

Temasek’s overseas investments are spread over 28 cities in Europe, America and the Asia Pacific.

According to Colayco’s proposal, agricultural development would not be included in the development project. He said that in the initial period, the project will be dependent on bilateral funding. But it will eventually be able to acquire funding from the capital markets.