Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said government funds for the New Clark City sports venues were “well-spent” as he lauded the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) for constructing the facilities “on time and within budget.”
“My job is to raise money for the government. When I do that, I also want to see that the money is well-spent and not wasted…This project, I think, is well-spent, not only for the athletes but also for the pride of our country, and that we now have for the first time in 80 years a world-class sports facility,” said Dominguez, citing the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex, built in 1934.
“We want to ensure that we are also world-class when it comes to our athletes because our athletes are really world-class and they really deserve a facility like this,” added Dominguez.
Dominguez inspected the New Clark City facilities on Thursday, November 21, together with Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea, House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano, other Build Build Build officials Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade, Public Works and Highways Secretary Mark Villar, and BCDA President and CEO Vince Dizon, Philippine Olympic President and Rep. Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino, Albay Rep. Joey Salceda, Tarlac Rep. Noel Villanueva, Tarlac Gov. Susan Yap, and Clark Development Corporation President and CEO Noel Manankil.
BCDA, together with infrastructure developer MTD Clark, Inc., built the new sports facilities as part of New Clark City Phase 1A in just 18 months since the project broke ground in January 2018.
The government officials were joined by national athletes in touring the Athletes’ Village, the 2,000-seater Aquatics Center certified by the International Swimming Federation (FINA), and the 20,000-seater Athletics Stadium with a track certified as Class 1 by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF).
They also visited the government building, which will serve as an integrated operations center for agencies involved in disaster risk reduction and management.