UP breaks ground for future campus in New Clark City

TARLAC, Philippines –The University of the Philippines (UP), in partnership with the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA), and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has started construction of its first campus in New Clark City.

BCDA Chairman Delfin N. Lorenzana, UP President Danilo L. Concepcion, DPWH Assistant Regional Director Denise Maria Ayag, and BCDA Senior Vice President for Conversion and Development Joshua M. Bingcang led the groundbreaking rites on December 5 at the New Clark City in Tarlac province’s Clark Special Economic Zone

The UP-New Clark City’s satellite campus will rise on a 3.4-hectare plot. The main university area will be located in another 76-hectare property within the rising metropolis, said a press statement by the BCDA information office.

The DPWH targets construction of Phase 1 of the satellite campus to be complete by September 2023. 

“Para sa amin sa UP, ang pagdating ng araw na ito ang isa sa aming pinakahihintay na okasyon. Pagkatapos ng ilang taon mula nang magkasundo ang BCDA at UP para magkaroon ng campus ang UP sa lugar na ito, ay narito ngayon tayo sa groundbreaking ceremony,” said Concepcion, whose six-year term ends in February 2003.

(‘For us in UP, this day is one of our most long-awaited occasions. After years since the BCDA and UP reached an agreement to establish a UP campus in this area, we are already here for the groundbreaking ceremony.’)

Academic integration, innovation

The new campus will become UP’s hub for education, research, training and collaboration, focusing on sustainable development, and provide support for the BCDA’s plan to build a “smart, sustainable and green city”. 

Concepcion said it would offer inter-, multi- and trans-disciplinary studies to help catalyze national development, and supplement UP’s continuing internationalization efforts through joint programs with top universities in the world.

Concepcion also shared plans to transfer the UP Open University to New Clark City. 

He said New Clark City will also house another branch of the Philippine General Hospital, as well as a National Institute of Health where professionals can conduct research on health sciences.

Former regent and lawyer Angelo Jimenez was elected by the university’s 11-member board of regents to replace Concepcion.

Lorenzana, former defense chief, described the event as “a solid affirmation on the indispensability of education in empowering the lives of the people.”

Sustainable design

In line with BCDA’s thrust for sustainable development, the New Clark City campuses will adhere to the principles of smart, sustainable and safe design under the UP Master Development Plan: Development Principles and Design Guidelines (2014).

The satellite campus will have a university plaza, administration building, university park, outdoor parking, service corridor, two academic buildings, a seating area, campus boulevard, gateway plaza, academic plaza, community garden, and a river parkway. 

“In a few months you will see the eventual transformation of this area into a modern learning community,” Ayag said. – Rappler.com