SCAD to harmonize policies with Subic, Clark freeports

The Subic- Clark Alliance for Development (SCAD) is set to speed up harmonization of policies and regulations between the Subic Bay Freeport (SBF) and Clark Freeport Zone (CFZ).

SCAD chairman Nestor S. Mangio said this came on the heels of a recent meeting of the Central Luzon Regional Development Council (RDC-III), where a draft of the Central Luzon Medium Term Regional Development Plan 2011-2016 (MTRDP) was presented.

The plan, he said, underscored, among others, the need for integrated land, air and sea transport modes. SCAD has been a member of RDC-III since 2006.

In a statement, Mangio said the need for a transport mode interconnecting the two freeport zones was one of the strategies identified and included in the MTRDP draft, to ensure sustainable growth that would effectively reduce poverty in Central Luzon.

“In the past we have coordinated the completion of the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway, SCTex Pampanga Interchanges and Access Roads, New Container Terminals in the Port of Subic Bay, and the Passenger Terminal of Diosdado Macapagal International Airport in Clark.

“These infrastructures have been serving the locators and the general public. This year, we will be coordinating more with growth partners and the private sector with regard to policy structures to find ways to further harmonize policies and regulations between the two freeports to attract more investments,” Mangio said.

Under the draft, SCAD is in charge of developing a “Global Gateway Program” aimed at strengthening the linkages between Subic, Clark and Tarlac’s industrial estate.

SCADC is a government office mandated to rationalize resources and harmonize policies and strategies that shall ensure an integrated and coordinated approach to the development of the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Corridor as a world-class mega logistics hub and global gateway to the Asia-Pacific Region.

It is composed of the Department of Trade and Industry, Bases Conversion and Development Authority, Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority, Clark Development Corporation, North Luzon Railways Corporation, and Clark International Airport Corporation.

Covering five kilometers on each side of SCTEx, the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Corridor is a vast expanse of 98,000 hectares straddling between and across 10 municipalities of Zambales, Bataan, Pampanga and Tarlac, and the cities of Olongapo, Angeles, and Tarlac. (U.S. News Agency / Asian)

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NEDA makes new push for logistics corridors

The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) is making a new push to develop logistics corridors, starting with the Subic-Clark-Manila-Batangas (SCMB) corridor as part of a national transport plan.

Initial discussions on the infrastructure planning under the 2010-1016 Medium Term Philippine Development Plan (MTPDP) recommend the creation of "strategic logistics corridors," initially starting off with the SCMB then extending the same northward and then southward.

The MTPDP envisions these corridors as having intermodal transport network system to obtain efficiency.

"The SCMB must be developed to become a seamless intermodal logistics corridor," documents on the initial results of the infrastructure planning subcommittee said.

The documents show how an integrated multi-modal logistics and transport system could not only decongest Metro Manila but also create linkages between business centers and nearby provinces.

This, the NEDA papers said, would help facilitate the efficient flow of commodities and inputs to economic and industrial zones.

"The development of seamless intermodal transport and logistics systems along strategic corridors will promote productivity and competitiveness," the documents said.

The NEDA points to inadequate and unstable funding for the construction and development of facilities as the culprit in the deficiencies in our transport system.

"Assessment of the country’s transport infrastructure network indicates that its quality and capacity remain low, even if the quantity of transport compares favorably with most Asean countries," the papers said.

Subic and Clark are the nearest economic industrial zones to Metro Manila, one offering a port and the other an airport. Metro Manila is linked to the two zones through road networks, the North Luzon expressway and the Subic-Clark-Tarlac expressway.

Linked to Metro Manila by the South Luzon expressway down south is Calabarzon, home to specialized industries and processing activities. The corridors complement each zone’s strengths in agriculture and manufacturing.

The corridor now accounts for 80 percent of the national cargo and about half of yearly economic output. (Malaya Business Insight)

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