World Bank vows to support $3-B Clark logistics project
The World Bank has expressed interest in supporting the development of the 177-hectare Sabah Al Ahmad Global Gateway Logistics City (GGLC) in Clark Freeport Zone, a project backed by KGL Investment Company led by Kuwaiti investors.
World Bank Executive Director for the Middle East Hasan Mirza expressed the bank's interest in the project, during a recent visit to the Global Gateway Logistics City where Global Gateway Development Corp. (GGDC), a company backed by KGL Investment Company, is putting the finishing touches on The Medical City (TMC) Clark, a world-class 150-bed hospital.
The Medical City Clark is a part of GGLC, a major development project that will cost a total of $3 billion, create over 300,000 jobs and generate annual payroll of $600 million, once completed.
Kuwait and Gulf Link Transport Company Chairman Saeed Dashti said the hospital will be turned over to Medical City by December 2014, with the official inauguration taking place early next year.
Dashti said Global Gateway Development Corp., the owner of GGLC, is attracting immense attention from international investors, including the World Bank and its private sector arm, the International Finance Corp. (IFC).
Mirza said KGLI's projects in the Philippines, such as the Global Gateway Logistics City and its investment in transport and logistics company 2Go Group are the kind of projects that boost the economy and provide for the development of decent life for the people, which are the World Bank’s priorities.
“Those are two promising and important projects for the Philippines," Mirza said.
Mirza said the negotiation process to invest in Global Gateway Development Corp. began a year and a half ago, and that only minimal details were left for finalization.
He said the World Bank is interested in such projects which have significant financial, economic and social yield and are in line with the World Bank's strategy.
Meanwhile, Dashti said the 2GO Group, which KGLI invested into, is the leading player in the Philippine’s sea transport industry, with a dominant market share , in addition to being the country’s largest provider of door-todoor logistics services.
Kuwait Ambassador to the Philippines Waleed Al-Kandari said KGLI’s projects provide job opportunities in the country. “I had the honor to represent His Highness Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al- Jaber Al-Sabah in 2012 inauguration of Sabah Al-Ahmad Global Gateway Logistics City in Clark, which is considered one of the largest investment projects in the Philippines".
“His Highness the Amir’s visit to the Philippines in 2012 strengthened the bonds of cooperation between the two countries and resulted in fruitful and beneficial cooperation in the fields of business, politics, trade, and investment, among others," Al-Kandari said.
Al-Kandari said the Philippines is one of the most promising emerging markets in Southeast Asia and that several Kuwaiti companies have acquired interests in a group of Filipino companies working in different fields, including exploration sector, particularly in the south-west of the Philippines in the Pacific Ocean, the export of oil to the Philippines, and agriculture in the south of the country, among other important sectors.