Clark as logistics hub ‘distinctly viable’—CIAC

CLARK FREEPORT --The Clark civil aviation complex inside the Clark Freeport Zone is distinctly viable to become a globally-competitive logistics center in southeast Asia, according to an official of the government firm Clark International Airport Corporation.

CIAC Officer-in-Charge Darwin Cunanan on Friday said the 2,367-hectare aviation complex, which is home to the new Clark International Airport, must be primed to be a cargo, service, and logistics hub for multinational companies to complement the use of the airport.

Cunanan’s statement came after President Ferdinand Marcos’ recently visited Clark to inaugurate the new airport terminal.

“The Clark aviation complex is distinctly viable for its privately-run world-class international airport, a sprawling and uncongested complex with aviation-related industries, a businessfriendly and disaster-resilient environment, plus we have the full support of Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista and the Bases Conversion and Development Authority,”

Cunanan said.

Marcos said the new international airport "is another building block to what we hope to become: a logistics center of Asia" during his visit in Clark on September 28.

Cunanan also noted that three of the world’s largest aircraft maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) service providers— Singapore Airlines Engineering (SIA Engineering) Philippines, Lufthansa Technik Phils., and Hong Kong’s Metrojet Engineering are based in Clark, while express freight giant FedEx is one of CIAC’s major locators at the aviation compl ex.

The CIAC executive added that the agency had refocused its marketing efforts to encourage top investors in the logistics and service industries and further develop the prime government-owned land surrounding the airport as service centers for airlines, logistics and warehouses, and transport hubs.

CIAC also hosts the mixed-use commercial hub Clark Global City and other locators engaged in manufacturing, information and technology, renewable energy, and other non-aviation-related industries.