Clark, officially the Clark Freeport and Special Economic Zone (CFEZ), is a freeport and

special economic zone A special economic zone (SEZ) is an area in which the business and trade laws are different from the rest of the country. SEZs are located within a country's national borders, and their aims include increasing trade balance, employment, increas ...

Central Luzon Central Luzon (; ; ; ; ), designated as Region III, is an administrative region in the Philippines. The region comprises seven provinces: Aurora, Bataan, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga (with its capital, San Fernando City serving as the re ...

, Philippines, managed by the Clark Development Corporation (CDC), a

government-owned and controlled corporation In the Philippines, a government-owned and controlled corporation (GOCC; ), sometimes with an "and/or", is a state-owned enterprise that conducts both commercial and non-commercial activity. Examples of the latter would be the Government Service I ...

(GOCC). It covers portions of the cities and municipalities of Angeles,

Mabalacat Mabalacat, officially Mabalacat City (; ), is a component city in the province of Pampanga, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 293,244 people. Mabalacat is in the urban core of Metro Clark, also known as Metro ...

, and

Porac Porac, officially the Municipality of Porac (; ), is a municipality of the Philippines, municipality in the Philippine Province, province of Pampanga, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 140,751 people. History Pora ...

Pampanga Pampanga, officially the Province of Pampanga (; ; ), is a province in Central Luzon in the Philippines. Lying on the northern shore of Manila Bay, Pampanga is bordered by Tarlac to the north, Nueva Ecija to the northeast, Bulacan to the east, ...

, as well as

Capas Capas, officially the Municipality of Capas (; ), is a Philippine municipality, municipality in the Philippine province, province of Tarlac, Philippines, and one of the richest towns in the province. The town also consists of numerous subdivi ...

and

Bamban Bamban, officially the Municipality of Bamban (; ), is a municipality in the province of Tarlac, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 78,260 people. Etymology The municipality derives its name from the ''bamban'' pla ...

Tarlac Tarlac, officially the Province of Tarlac (; ; ; ; ), is a landlocked Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Central Luzon Regions of the Philippines, region. It had a population of 1,503,456 people according to ...

. The zone is divided into two areas: the Clark Freeport Zone (CFZ) and the Clark Special Economic Zone (CSEZ).

New Clark City New Clark City is a planned community currently undergoing development, owned and managed by the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA). It is located within the Clark Freeport and Special Economic Zone in the municipalities of Bamb ...

is part of the CSEZ, while

Clark Global City Clark Global City (formerly the Global Gateway Logistics City) is a planned mixed-use central business district development at the Clark Freeport Zone in Mabalacat and Angeles City, Philippines. Udenna Corporation is responsible for the develop ...

falls within the CFZ. The CFZ includes the area formerly occupied by

Clark Air Base Clark Air Base is a Philippine Air Force base in Luzon, located west of Angeles City, and about northwest of Metro Manila. It was previously operated by the U.S. Air Force and, before that, the U.S. Army, from 1903 to 1991. The base cov ...

, a former

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

facility. Most of the air base has been converted into

Clark International Airport Clark International Airport , known as Diosdado Macapagal International Airport from 2003 to 2014, is an international airport covering portions of the cities of Angeles and Mabalacat within the Clark Freeport and Special Economic Zone in ...

, with some portions still under the control of the

Philippine Air Force The Philippine Air Force (PAF) () is the aerial warfare service branch of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. Initially formed as part of the Philippine Army as the Philippine Army Air Corps (PAAC) in 1935, the PAAC eventually saw combat ...

. 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

History

Establishment of the Clark Special Economic Zone

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 Angeles (), officially the City of Angeles (; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Central Luzon region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 462,928 people. A ...

, and

, Pampanga and

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 Fidel Valdez Ramos (; March 18, 1928 – July 31, 2022), popularly known as FVR, was a Filipino general and politician who served as the 12th president of the Philippines from 1992 to 1998. He was the only career military officer to reached ...

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

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

, Pampanga and

Bamban, Tarlac Bamban, officially the Municipality of Bamban (; ), is a municipality of the Philippines, municipality in the Philippine Province, province of Tarlac, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 78,260 people. Etymology The ...

, through Ramos' Proclamation No. 805. The CSEZ was placed under the

Philippine Economic Zone Authority The Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA), formerly known as the Foreign Trade Zone Authority (FTZA) and Export Processing Zone Authority (EPZA), is a Philippine government agency attached to the Department of Trade and Industry. It was ...

on March 10, 2006, by President

Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Maria Gloria Macaraeg Macapagal-Arroyo (; born April 5, 1947), often referred to as PGMA or GMA, is a Filipino academic and politician who served as the 14th president of the Philippines from Presidency of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, 2001 to 2010 ...

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 In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

ruling that these exemptions under the BCDA charter are exclusive to the Subic economic zone.

Creation of the Freeport Zone

The Clark Air Base area, also known as the Clark Main Zone was declared a Freeport Zone and was separated from the special economic zone through Republic Act 9400 of 2007. Since then the Freeport Zone and the Clark Special Economic Zone were considered as separate areas but collectively they are occasionally referred to as the "Clark Freeport and Special Economic Zone".

Further reorganization

In November 2018, the BCDA and the Clark Development Corporation grouped four developments within the CFEZ namely the Clark Freeport Zone,

, and New Clark City as "districts" under one brand dubbed as "Clark: It Works. Like A Dream". Six years later, it was announced that the planned central business district is set to rise in the area as Clark Central Business District and it will create more than 170,000 jobs.

CDC Board of Directors

The Clark Development Corporation (CDC) consists of a

Board of Directors A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulatio ...

whose members are appointed by the

President of the Philippines The president of the Philippines (, sometimes referred to as ) is the head of state, head of government and chief executive of the Philippines. The president leads the executive branch of the Philippine government and is the commander-in-ch ...

, based on the recommendations of the Governance Commission for Government-Owned or -Controlled Corporations (GCG).

Districts

Since the reorganization in 2018, there are four districts in Clark. * Clark Freeport Zone *

References

External links

Clark Freeport Zone Website
{{Clark Freeport and Special Economic Zone Industrial parks in the Philippines Free ports Tarlac Angeles City Mabalacat PEZA special economic zones 1993 establishments in the Philippines