RENEWED PARTNERSHIP. CDC president and chief executive officer (CEO) Manuel Gaerlan (3rd from left) meets with PLDT chairman and CEO Manuel V. Pangilinan (4th from left) at the latter’s office in Makati. Also present during the event are Alfredo Panlilio, EVP and chief revenue officer of PLDT; Jovy Hernandez, SVP and Group Head Enterprise Business, PLDT and Smart; Chito Franco, CEO of PLDT ClarkTel, and Victor Tria, First Vice President and Head of PLDT ALPHA Enterprise; lawyer Michael Toledo, Government Relations and Public Affairs Head of Metro Pacific Investments; and Dennis Legaspi, CDC chief of staff. (Photo courtesy of A. Gaerlan/CDC)
CLARK FREEPORT, Pampanga – The Clark Development Corporation (CDC) is set to boost information and communications technology (ICT) capabilities to make this freeport a smart and technology-focused investment destination.
In a statement on Sunday, CDC president Manuel Gaerlan said he has already discussed with telecommunications service provider PLDT Inc. chairman and chief executive officer Manny V. Pangilinan (MVP) various undertakings that will strengthen the ICT capabilities and future-proof the freeport.
The move is in line with the vision to make the freeport a modern and sustainable aerotropolis and preferred meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE) and tourism destination in the Asia-Pacific region by 2030.
“PLDT is one of the most important partners of the state-owned firm as it will significantly contribute to making the Freeport a smart and technology-focused investment destination,” Gaerlan said.
The freeport is host to Clark Telecom -- a subsidiary of PLDT -- which is considered as one of the leading internet and telecom services providers in Clark. The 92-year company was also present during the presence of American troops inside the former US Airbase.
PLDT also rolled out the first 5G service in the country inside Clark in 2018, making the freeport lay a foothold on reliable and extremely high speed with low latency internet connection. 5G service is key in achieving the internet of things (IOT) that create smart cities.
In 2017, a PHP1.3-billion Vitro Data Center Clark was launched by ePLDT here.
The facility is the first rated-3 data center facility outside Metro Manila based on the Telecom Industry Association’s IA-942 standards.
The certification is given to data centers that are concurrently maintainable in design, which means each component that is part of the distribution path can be removed, replaced, or serviced on a planned basis without any disruption in the client’s ICT capabilities.
Meanwhile, aside from internet and telecommunications services, the MVP Group of Companies has also poured-in various investments and interests in this freeport.
Some of these are the Clark Electric Distribution Corporation (CEDC), e-PLDT, and the Philippine Disaster Resilience Foundation (PDRF). (PNA)
