Clark Freeport and Special Economic Zone
Clark Freeport and Special Economic Zone
Main page
1311202

Clark Freeport and Special Economic Zone

logo
Community Hub0 subscribers
What are your thoughts?
Be the first to start a discussion here.
Be the first to start a discussion here.
Clark Freeport and Special Economic Zone

Clark, officially the Clark Freeport and Special Economic Zone (CFEZ), is a freeport and special economic zone in Central Luzon, Philippines, managed by the Clark Development Corporation (CDC), a government-owned and controlled corporation (GOCC). It covers portions of the cities and municipalities of Angeles, Mabalacat, and Porac in Pampanga, as well as Capas and Bamban in Tarlac.

The zone is divided into two areas: the Clark Freeport Zone (CFZ) and the Clark Special Economic Zone (CSEZ). New Clark City is part of the CSEZ, while Clark Global City falls within the CFZ. The CFZ includes the area formerly occupied by Clark Air Base, a former United States Air Force facility. Most of the air base has been converted into Clark International Airport, with some portions still under the control of the Philippine Air Force.

Clark serves as a hub for business, industry, aviation, education, and tourism in the Philippines, as well as a center for leisure, fitness, entertainment, and gaming in Central Luzon.

The Bases Conversion and Development Act of 1992 (Republic Act 7227) authorized the President to issue a decree converting the military reservation in the Clark area covering Angeles City, Mabalacat, and Porac, Pampanga and Capas, Tarlac into a special economic zone. The legislation also created the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) to facilitate the conversion process.

President Fidel V. Ramos issued Proclamation No. 163 on April 3, 1993, creating the Clark Special Economic Zone (CSEZ) and transferring the administration of the area to the BCDA. The proclamation included the Clark Air Base and portions of the Clark reverted base lands not reserved for military use to the CSEZ. The Clark Development Corporation, a subsidiary of BCDA was founded to oversee the development of the area in the same year. The Metro Clark Advisory Council (MCAC) was also formed shortly as a mechanism for the CDC to coordinate with local government units in the area.

The following year, President Ramos declared Clark as the future site of a "premier" civilian international airport with a 14-million passenger capacity by 1998 but this plan did not come to fruition as projected.

On June 14, 1996, the CSEZ was expanded with the addition of the Sacobia area, which includes lands from Mabalacat, Pampanga and Bamban, Tarlac, through Ramos' Proclamation No. 805.

The CSEZ was placed under the Philippine Economic Zone Authority on March 10, 2006, by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo through Proclamation No. 1035, granting tax and duty exemptions to export company locators operating within the CSEZ. The Clark economic zone lost these exemptions in 2005 after a Supreme Court ruling that these exemptions under the BCDA charter are exclusive to the Subic economic zone.

See all
User Avatar
No comments yet.