The Clark International Airport Corp. (CIAC) said the first phase of the PHP8.5-billion National Food Hub at the Clark Airport Complex is expected to be completed by the end of 2027.

“Included in Phase 1 are the cold storage facilities. Then the administrative offices of the ones that are going to run the place,” CIAC President Arrey Perez said on the sidelines of the signing of the agreement for technical advisory services in the establishment of the National Food Hub, held at the Asian Development Bank (ADB) head office in Mandaluyong City on Friday.

The agreement signed by CIAC, the ADB, and the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Center ensures technical expertise in the preparation, structuring, and procurement of the concessionaire for the National Food Hub Project.

The ADB will provide market-facing transaction advisory services and technical assistance, including the preparation of pre-tender documents, securing approvals, and assistance with the tender process.

The partnership with the ADB also includes two years of project monitoring.

Perez said the ADB’s feasibility study and other pre-tender documents are expected to be completed by January 2025, while tender documents will be publicly released within the first quarter of next year.

“Yung operator nyan eventually, we’re just packaging what kind of developer that will be kasi pag-aaralan pa. It might be the whole thing kasi PPP ito. So, what we envision is it will be a design, build, finance, operations. and maintenance. So, titingnan namin if we’re going to build the whole thing na isang investor lang ang gagawa nun or we can get someone to build it first and then kukuha ng operator (The eventual operator, we’re just packaging what kind of developer that will be because it needs to be studied. It might be the whole thing because this is a PPP. What we envision is it will be a design, build, finance, operations, and maintenance. We will see if we’re going to build the whole thing with just one investor or we can get someone to build it first and then hire an operator),” he said.

Perez said the bidding process will be conducted next year, while the target schedule for the signing of the project concession agreement is January 2026.

According to Perez, the completion of the second phase will likely take another five years.

“Phase 2, I would say it would take another five years so that everything will be completed by 2032,” he said.

He said the second phase includes the putting up of packaging and processing facilities.

The 62-hectare National Food Hub involves the development, operations, and maintenance of a wholesale food hub serving the Clark Freeport Zone, New Clark City, Metro Manila, and North, Central, and Southern Luzon, including the peripheral areas.

Perez said the hub is set to replicate state-of-the-art agro-logistics systems of food hubs in advanced Asian countries, raise the standards of food safety, and provide better opportunities for the local farmers, fisherfolk, and growers.

“The Clark hub will serve as a comprehensive central solution for the distribution, storage, and processing of agricultural products, which will enhance the national government’s food security measures – a priority program of the Marcos administration,” Perez said.

Earlier this year, the Project Development and Monitoring Facility, managed and administered by the PPP Center, granted a USD450,000 funding support to the CIAC for the project. (PNA)