AHEAD OF SCHEDULE
THE developer and its associates tasked to construct the modern sports complex in New Clark City assured that facilities will be ready for the country’s hosting of the 30th Southeast Asian Games.
With nine months to go before the November 30 to December 11 biennial meet gets going, infrastructure developer MTD Philippines and project partner Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) said construction of the complex is now halfway done, or about 53-percent completed.
Both vowed to finish the construction by August, or about three months before the regional meet.
“Internally it’s August 31 [deadline] for everything, including the athletes’ housing and government residences. And our deliverable to BCDA is October 30, so we have a safety net of two months,” said MTD Philippines President Engr. Patrick Nicholas David.
The MTD officer was with Arrey Perez, BCDA vice president for business development and deputy director general of the Philippine Southeast Asian Games Organizing Committee (Phisgoc), during the special Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) Forum held at Mimosa in Clark on Tuesday to give updates on the construction of the modern sports complex that will served as the main hub of the SEA Games.
The construction of the 20,000-seat athletics stadium would be over by June or July at the latest, according to David, while the others will be finished even earlier.
The new sports facilities are part of Phase 1A of the New Clark City Government Administrative Center (NGAC), and it include the track and field stadium, the 2,000-seat aquatics center and an Athletes’Village, while being surrounded by a 1.4-kilometer river park development with bikeways and jogging paths.
“Initially, everything looked like a drawing, but now, everything has shaped up,” said David during the session hosted by the BCDA and presented by San Miguel, Tapa King and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. “We’re very confident to get the job done and deliver a world-class facility for the Filipino people.”
Perez assured the country will be well prepared to host the SEA Games, which was last staged in the Philippines in 2005.
“We will surely host the SEA Games,” said the Phisgoc officer. “Our vision to have a sports city at the New Clark City is indeed a big one,” Perez said. “We want to contribute to the rebirth of Philippine sports.”
He also mentioned the role of the Philippine Sports Commission as a major partner in developing and maintaining the sports facilities being constructed by the BCDA located in Capas and Bamban, Tarlac.