Clark Freeport Zone- The Subic-Clark Alliance for Development Council (SCADC) has completed the Conceptual Land-Use Plan (CLUP) for the Subic-Clark Economic Corridor. In a simple ceremony held at the Clark Development Corporation (CDC) Conference Room, Tuesday, the Urban Planning Team of Architects Alli, Molina and Tomeldan formally turned over the final report on the SCAD Corridor Conceptual Land Use Plan (SCoLUP) to SCADC Chief Staff Ms. Erlinda B. Pamintuan and Engr. Teresito T. Tiotuyco, Director for Infrastructure and Utilities of SCADC.

The SCoLUP, which was started in Septemebr 2008, covers approximately ten kilometer (10km) wide swath with the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway at its centerline. It runs the entire length of the SCTEX and is comprised of productive/non-productive agricultural lands, minor forests and built-up areas. All in all, it covers an approximately 100,000 hectares, located in four provinces, ten municipalities and three cities being traversed by the SCTEX.

Part of the process in the completion of this CLUP is a series of consultations with Local Government Units in all the provinces, including various stakeholders from the business sector, academe, civil and civic society organizations, indigenous people, government and non-governmental organizations and other citizens’ groups. The final report incorporated most of the wish lists of the LGUs which are based on their own CLUP and Provincial Planning Framework.

Included in the wish list are the improvements on existing road networks like the Jose Abad Santos Avenue and the Roman Highway in Pampanga and Bataan; local roads access to the SCTEX, constructions of new road networks like the San Marcelino-Floridablanca Road; non-tollways road linking Tarlac with Zambales; new circumferential roads linking Pampanga with Tarlac, and Zambalaes/Bataan with Pampanga; 3 new radial roads (Tarlac-Iba, Tarlac-Nueva Ecija-Aurora, Capas-Botolan; a viaduct coastal highway linking Bataan, Pampanga and Bulacan to Metro Manila. Specifically, Tarlac would have their existing road networks to be improved specially those which have access to the SCTEX, road linkages to the western and western provinces, improvement of agricultural productivity, emphasis on irrigation and flooding mitigation and the development of upland tourism and projects that would improve agricultural and industrial productivity.

Some of the features of the SCCoLUP are policies that should be adopted which include among others the in-filling of built-up areas before resorting to agricultural land conversion; limitation of new developments- particularly of residential subdivisions and housing sites- to the marginally productive sloped areas; careful planning and monitoring of developments along major roads; clear definition of area of jurisdictions and early resolutions of boundary disputes; interim land uses for unproductive agricultural lands; and possible penalties for idle corridor lands.

With the completion and approval of this Subic-Clark Corridor Conceptual Land-Use Plan, it will be presented to the governors, city and municipal mayors of the LGUs where the SCoLUP is applicable. They will then enter into a Memorandum of Understanding that would make them adopt the Subic-Clark Conceptual Land-Use Plan into their respective Development Plans.

The initial steps towards the completion of a Master Development Plan for the Subic-Clark Economic Corridor are now in place. Subsequently, this will start and institutionalize the development of the Corridor into the Subic-Clark Logistics Hub which is one of the legacy projects of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Subic-Clark Alliance for Development Council(SCADC) Chief of Staff Ms. Linda B. Pamintuan (center), with (l-r)Mr. Lester Valdes, Walter San Diego, Engr. Terry Tiotuyco, Mr. Archie Reyes, Arch. Armando Alli, Arch. Oscar Molina, Arch. Enrico Franco Vistan and Daxx LLorente during the turn-over of the final report on the Subic-Clark Conceptual Land-Use Plan held at the CDC Conference Room, July 10, 2009. PRC/SCADC