DEVELOPMENT of the Clark International Airport and the deep-sea port in Subic will speed-up the creation of a ‘Pampanga megalopolis.’
Felino “Jun” Palafox Jr. of Palafox Associates noted the Pampanga Growth Triangle has a functioning seaport and an international airport which are both linked by the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTex) extending all the way to the Tarlac-Pangasinan Expressway (TPlex).
The Pampanga Growth Triangle is composed of three metropolises — San Fernando-Lubao, Angeles-Clark, and Porac-Subic. The Ayala Corporation has already set their sights on real estate development in the once listless Porac town.
Palafox has supported the twin airport system that will decongest Metro Manila.
“International airports are needed for the Manila Bay Region. These include one in Cavite or Batangas in the Calabarzon area, and the other is the full utilization of the existing runway of the Clark International Airport.”
Local and international flights are already operating at the Clark airport but support facilities such as a high speed train system and infrastructure should be put in place amid the worsening traffic in Angeles City.
“Pampanga has the necessary geographic features and infrastructure in place. Pampanga can be a megalopolis with urban growth and development triangle, composed of three metropolises: San Fernando-Lubao, Angeles-Clark, and Porac-Subic. In short, it has a fully functioning sea port and distribution center; an international airport; and easily accessible through the National Highway. We inherited billions of dollars worth of infrastructure from the Americans for the two largest US military Bases outside the USA,” according to Palafox.
Palafox said the runway in Clark airport is already built while Pampanga’s location is strategic and large enough to create a bigger Singapore and Hong Kong.
“It (Pampanga) has the potential to develop into a sustainable, green, smarter, resilient global gateway city,” he said.
The government is currently developing the Clark Green City at the Sacobia Valley.
“What makes the geography of Pampanga, with Clark and Subic, unique is that it can become both an Agropolis and an Aerotroplis. The central district of Clark can develop more compact vertical urbanism with mixed-use and multi-use smart development, also using the best practices in urban planning, land use, transportation, tourism, architecture, and infrastructure. In reality, it has the potential to become the next financial and business center outside Metro Manila,” said Palafox.
Meanwhile, former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo said Palafox will make a presentation on “Pampanga Megalopolis: Well Into the 21st Century” on October 14 at the Kingsborough International Convention Center in the City of San Fernando.
Rep. Arroyo (Pampanga 2nd District) said the Palafox Associates and Palafox Architecture Group will “highlight the high development potentials of Pampanga as a major urban growth center.”