The Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) is now headed by an insider - Joshua “Jake” Bingcang. As a builder and initiator of some of the country’s most important infrastructure projects, it is also a welcome development that this agency is now being run by an engineer, who also rose from its ranks.

“Yes, it helps that I am an engineer,” Bingcang told the Manila Bulletin Business. 
“There are always other solutions to challenges,” he said. BCDA has always struggled to overcome challenges, including legal issues, as they pursue their projects.

Build and build

At present, BCDA is in the thick of implementing some of the most impactful projects in the country for the ambitious New Clark City, a project with several components anchored on the concept of an aerotropolis.  

New Clark City is a 9,450-hectare development north of Clark Freeport Zone, designed to be the country’s first smart, green, and disaster resilient metropolis. Anchored on the principles of sustainability, New Clark City has a developable area of 40 percent and the remaining 60 percent being preserved for green and eco-tourism ventures.

It has so much to offer to investors and developers, both foreign and local. It is a developers’ market.

For instance, it is moving the Philippine Air Force (PAF) housing facility to a new area so the current location can be further developed as part of the central business district of the New Clark City.

The PAF is 300-hectare complex, including a 100-hectare housing area.

Since the area is now teeming with tourism and tourism-related facilities, the housing facilities will have to be relocated to an 85-hectare area to become the permanent housing for the Airforce personnel.

The remaining 200 hectares would be used for the airport’s operational facilities and as a second runway. This is aimed at providing more infrastructure facilities for logistics locators.

Already, three major global logistics firms are in advanced talks with BCDA for their expansion to make Clark their Asian hub.

Bingcang, who is also vice-chairman of BCDA subsidiary Clark International Airport Corp., expects to sign the logistics contracts within the first quarter this year.

They also expect to receive more private sector participation for its ICT project to provide internet services to locators that is at par with South Korea and Singapore. BCDA will take advantage of the capacity provided under its partnership with Facebook.

In addition, the Manila-Clark train is seen as a game changer, especially for the Clark International Airport, which at present has 11 international and 10 local destinations.

Stand alone global hub

With the massive developments in Clark, Bingcang said the new city can be a stand alone global center that could be marketed separately.

As big manufacturing projects prefer Vietnam and R&Ds going to Singapore, he believes Clark can provide the competitive edge. 
“We want to create the ecosystems that there are good things in Clark,” he said. “Clark can stand out because we have the scale, the land, population, the skills and the infra. As an investment promotion agency, BCDA can also provide incentives to locators,” he added.

In fact, Australian investment company St Baker Energy Innovation Fund (StBEIF) is transforming Clark as its battery manufacturing hub.

Several Japanese companies are also looking at establishing industrial parks. The Japanese have been very aggressive in the construction of infrastructure projects in the new city.

The world’s big brands in the hospitality sector are lining up for the construction of five-star hotels and golf courses. It is building a huge convention center. A government center is part of its masterplan for agencies to finally relocate to Clark.

Overtime, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) printing facilities will be relocating to Clark. Educational institutions as well as medical facilities are also moving in.

Several activities are going in Clark because of its world-class entertainment and sports facilities.

BCDA is also in talks with Joel Consing, president & CEO of Maharlika Investment Corporation (MIC). “They are looking for shovel-ready projects,” he said. One very viable project is the development of housing facilities as there are already 130,000 workers in the freeport but only five percent are living inside. Other potential projects are mass transport, logistics, airport amenities, among others.

To enhance the attractiveness of Clark, BCDA is also pushing for the passage of a bill to free up certain portion of their lands from leasehold to freehold for residential developments only. This is part of a bill seeking to amend the BCDA charter and give it a fresh 50-year new lease on life.

It still has other assets like Camp John Hay and Poro Point in La Union, and some prime properties in the National Capital Region.

From the ranks

The task is just overwhelming, but not for Bingcang, who has spent most of his life in government service. He aims to see all the BCDA projects come to fruition.

At BCDA, he started as a young office engineer handling projects to  what is now the bustling Bonifacio Global City. While working, he was allowed to finish his masters degree in finance and business development. He went on to handle bigger projects like the SCTEX, which gave rise to two more expressways for the north. 
He also handled the Clark International Airport from conception to design, construction, and procurement of the O&M.

A native of Mexico, Pampanga, Bingcang goes home every other day to his province. Being a local has also helped him win social acceptability for the Clark projects.

“I speak the same language so we immediately create a rapport. I also come from the same family of farmers and a product of public school education,” he said.

But what made him stay in government service is the kind of professionalism at BCDA, a government agency that behaves like a private company. He said that BCDA is good in numbers and armed with the right mandate.

“It’s a personal joy and gratification to have helped in nation building and am happy being behind the scene,” he said adding that “there are many brilliant minds in government service who can go head on with the private sector and foreign companies.”

The BCDA, for instance, has stood on their ground for their multi-billion infrastructure projects, which have been validated by the private sector’s compliance of their requirements, particularly in the conduct of competitive bidding to get the best benefit for the government.

“My allegiance is with the government, we produce world class legacy projects by making sure we are doing the right thing by not short changing the public and our children,” he said.

Did he expect to be leading BCDA someday? “I would be honest to say that it did enter my mind, but I did not spend time thinking about it. I just did my job and people take notice,” said Bingcang.