BCDA, UP sign deal to set up 70-ha Clark campus

STATE-OWNED Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) signed an agreement with the University of the Philippines last week for the establishment of a 70-hectare campus within the Clark Green City.

Under the memorandum of agreement, the BCDA will provide the premier state university the land within Clark Green City through a deed of conveyance, subject to a final ground survey to be jointly conducted by both parties.

UP, at its own expense, will develop, operate and manage the property, which will serve as an academic and research campus of the UP System.

The development of the campus must be in accordance with the parameters, land use plan, and other design guidelines provided in the Clark Green City Master Development Plan, the BCDA said in a statement.

According to UP president Alfredo Pascual, UP was ready to present the conceptual plan of the UP Campus in Clark Green City. He added that the state university already has the initial funds to implement the project, which is scheduled to break ground by the first quarter of 2016.

“The UP global campus will play a pivotal role in jumpstarting the Innovative and Academic District in Clark Green City,” added BCDA president and chief executive officer Arnel Paciano D. Casanova. “For every poor Filipino who needs to be educated, there must be a place that UP could provide for them. For every creative and innovative mind that our country could produce, UP must be able to provide the opportunity for them. The UP Clark Green City will make this happen.”