CLARK FREEPORT, Pampanga – Clark executives are expecting an additional P4 billion worth of investments inside this Freeport after aviation authorities lifted the height restrictions of buildings near the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA) here.

The state-run Clark Development Corp. (CDC), under its president Benigno N. Ricafort, said the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) recently approved the applications of new investors to construct 32 buildings here.

CAAP, formerly the Air Transportation Office, is a government agency mandated to keep aviation facilities safe from structural obstructions near international airports.

Ricafort said the pending applications since 2007 range from tourism to Information Technology-related industries: 14 from JB Cresta; six from CPR Palm Resort; four from Berthaphil Inc.; two from Sutherland Global Services; and one each from CyberCity Teleservices, J&K Global Properties, CAASCI, Oxford Hotel, CEDC, and BBAC.

Ricafort and chairman Nestor Mangio of the Clark International Airport Corporation (CIAC) said that in March this year, a team of experts from the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) conducted an aerodrome survey of the Clark airport.

They said that the aerodrome survey covered the identification of maximum penetrations beyond the mathematical limits for height clearances considering the second runway and the proposed third runway.

Ricafort said that he has prioritized this issue by tasking it to the office of the assistant vice president for Permits, Licensing, and Monitoring of CDC.

Ricafort said the CDC and CAAP signed a Board-approved Memorandum of Agreement for the following – CAAP will draft an operational guideline to ensure an acceptable procedure and time frame for future applications and for the conduct of the Obstacle Limitation Surface (OLS) so that indicative height limitation values can be determined for every area at the Clark Freeport.

Ricafort and Mangio said that the resolution of the height restriction issue is important to ensure the continued economic development here.

Republic Act 9447 mandates CAAP to determine height clearance permits as part of the mandatory requirements prior to erecting any structure or buildings situated within the vicinity of airports.