New Clark City is a planned community currently undergoing development. It is located within the Clark Freeport and Special Economic Zone in the municipalities of Bamban and Capas in Tarlac, Philippines, covering an area of approximately and is designed to accommodate up to 1.2 million people.

It is a planned city master planned by urban planning and engineering firms AECOM and Surbana Jurong, and is being developed by the Philippine state-enterprise Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA). It was initiated in 2012 in a scheme to serve as an alternative to Metro Manila and establish a resilient, back-up administrative center for the national government. The city's master plan divides it into thirteen functional, sustainable neighborhoods, such as the National Government Administrative Center (the civic core of the city), an agro-industrial park, and academic districts, which are integrated closely with the surrounding natural landscape.

Although initially conceptualized as a new capital city for the Philippines, replacing Manila, the plan later evolved into the city being actively developed as a major hub for high technology and innovation in the region. A total area of was specifically allocated for artificial intelligence and advanced manufacturing since the accession of the Philippines to the Pax Silica initiative in 2026.

History

Conceptualization and design The idea of designing and building a new capital city for the Philippines has been around since the capital was reverted back to Manila in 1976. The most substantial plan, however, was proposed in 2012 by Arnel Paciano Casanova, who served as the president of BCDA, which manages former U.S. military installations in the country, until 2016. Casanova envisioned a new metropolis north of the current capital, within the former site of the U.S. military base of Camp O’Donnell, that would become the country’s first smart and green metropolis, as a substitute for Metro Manila, which faces challenges in congestion, lack of green spaces, and the effects of climate change. A notable aspect of the vision is the discouragement of gated communities, which are prevalent in Metro Manila.

The plan was met with skepticism from the public and some government officials, mostly due to its remote location and the displacement of indigenous people in the area. It was later highlighted by Typhoon Ketsana’s flooding of Metro Manila in 2009 and Typhoon Haiyan’s destruction of Tacloban City in 2013. This prompted the commissioning of the plan, with the national economic board chaired by President Benigno Aquino III approving the project in May 2014.

In 2015, proposals for the master conceptual development plan for the Clark Green City were submitted to the BCDA and screened by a committee composed of local and international urban planners, most notably Jezreel Apelar of Urban Land Institute, Julia Nebrija of World Bank, Grace Ramos of the University of the Philippines, Stephen Gray of Harvard University, Fadi Masoud of MIT, and Mary Anne Ocampo of international design firm Sasaki. AEDEA’s plan was selected.

In January 2016, the BCDA and Filinvest entered into a 50-year contract to develop the 288 hectares (710 acres) of allocated land in the city. During this time, the BCDA also secured partnerships with multinational firms such as the Japan Overseas Infrastructure Investment Corporation, which plans to connect the city to Metro Manila by rail, and the IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute, which will assist the BCDA in the smart and disaster-resilient aspect of the plan. Philippine Congress approved House Resolution 116 in March 2016, in support of the Clark Green City, further strengthening the government's support for the project.

To build the human capital of the new city, the BCDA made a land grant of 70 hectares to the University of the Philippines, 40 to the Technological University of the Philippines, and 20 to the Philippine Science High School.

Ground breaking, 2019 SEA Games

The groundbreaking of the city, supervised by Aquino and Casanova, was held on April 11, 2016.

The development of the city was subsequently included in the flagship projects of the succeeding President Rodrigo Duterte, with Vince Dizon assuming the role of BCDA’s president. The project was renamed to its current name of New Clark City. The Phase 1-A construction began, which includes the government offices and accommodations of the National Government Administrative Center and its sports hub component. The New Clark City Stadium and the Aquatic Center were completed in a record time of 18 months, just in time for the 2019 SEA Games.

In February 2020, as one of the preemptive measure implemented by the national government at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the city was designated as a quarantine zone for repatriated Filipinos returning from Hubei, China, with the athletes village used during SEA Games serving as the billeting quarters.

In July 2020, the Department of Agriculture unveiled plans to set up an agro-industrial hub in the city, aimed at supporting farming communities in the region and strengthening food security in Luzon.

The Global Future Cities Program of the British government noted issues in the city’s plan, including the absence of provision for affordable housing, the indefinite integration of the existing community of farmers in the area into the development, and the current urban design lacking appropriate streetscape design. In September 2020, the BCDA and the British government signed a memorandum of agreement to include the city in the program and tackle the issues raised. A ceremony for the foundation of the city’s central park, a notable output of the program, was held in July 2021.

Pax Silica The Philippines is one of the major source and exporter of raw mineral exports like nickel and copper. 98% of China's imports are from the Philippines, according to a 2014 Financial Times report. The Philippine government initially proposed a ban on raw mineral exports in 2014 through 2030, but the plan was eventually scrapped.

On April 16, 2026, the Philippines joined the United States-led Pax Silica initiative, announcing that an area of in the New Clark City has been allocated for manufacturing. The development of a high technology hub in the city supports the government's plan to shift from exporting raw and extracted materials like nickel, elements that are important in creating high value electronic products to countries like China, to processing the materials and manufacture the products in the country instead.

In June 2026, Foxconn, the Taiwanese manufacturer of iPhone, was reported to be the first company in the advance stage of locating in New Clark City.

Geography New Clark City spans an area of and is located within the former U.S. military base of Camp O'Donnell. Being part of the Clark Special Economic Zone, New Clark City is administered from Angeles City in the province of Pampanga, although the development encompasses parts of the municipalities of Capas and Bamban in the bordering province of Tarlac.

The area was specifically chosen for the development due to its lower risk of natural disasters. With a minimum elevation of above sea level and a maximum of around , and complemented by a planned central park which will serve as a flood catchment basin, the site is considered not to be a flood-prone area. The development is also surrounded by the mountain ranges of Sierra Madre to the east and Zambales Mountains to the west, providing natural protection in times of typhoons. The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology has also assessed the area to be relatively less prone to earthquakes.

Zoning About of the total , or about 60% of the total land area of the city will be developed as green space. The river park system is currently under development, in addition to the World War II and Bataan Death March memorial, the Capas National Shrine, located at the entrance of the city, and the planned Central Park at the center of the city, which is set to become one of the largest public parks in the country.

+Key development areas in New Clark City Area Allocation Planned facilitiesStatusNational Government Administrative CenterMixed-use development for facilities and offices by the national government. It includes:

Satellite office of the President of the Philippines Integrated Operations and Disaster Recovery Center National Sports Hub which includes: New Clark City Stadium New Clark City Aquatic Center An indoor arenaCompletedFilinvest Innovation ParkMixed-use and industrial district being developed under joint venture between BCDA and Filinvest Land.

Innovation Park for logistics, e-commerce, light manufacturing, and data center operations businesses. Includes: StB Giga Factory, the first Lithium iron phosphate battery manufacturing plant in the country EDAC Southeast Asia hubUnder developmentHann ReserveA mountain resort being developed by Hann Development Corporation, Accor, and Marriott International. It will contain:

A 18-hole championship golf course PGA-affiliated player development center Hotels by Banyan Tree, Angsana, Sofitel, Emblems, The Luxury Collection, and The Westin Mixed-use commercial center public parkUnder developmentScience ParkPartnership between the BCDA and Science Park of the Philippines Inc.PlannedPax Silica hubA partnership between the Philippine government and the U.S. government-led Pax SilicaPlannedOthersPhilTA's Philippine Tennis CenterPlanned

Climate Under the Köppen-Geiger classification, New Clark City has a tropical monsoon climate (Am). In May, the warmest month, the average temperature reaches up to ; in January, the coldest month, the average temperature is . January also sees precipitation level plunging to 31 mm, making the city arid during this month, in contrast to July, when precipitation reaches its peak at an average of 353 mm.

Education

Education and research have been core aspects of the city's development since its conceptualization. The city is being developed to introduce the Philippine education sector and workforce in general to global standards, which will ultimately complement the technology companies locating in the city.

The zoning plan of New Clark City includes areas designated for institutional and educational purposes. The first locator in the education sector was approved in 2014, with the country's top state research university, the University of the Philippines, seeking to establish a new campus in the city to internationalize its curriculum and research program.https://resilience.up.edu.ph/resilient_campuses/resilient-campus-plan-up-clark-green-city/ Other universities set to open campuses in the city include the Technological University of the Philippines.

New Clark City also hosts two specialized basic education institutions: the National Academy of Sports was established in the city in 2020, while the Philippine Science High School is set to open a new campus and a large-scale fabrication laboratory in the city. Hann Philippines is also set to open an international school offering the International Baccalaureate program.

The city is also set to be home to various national research institutes, with the Virology and Vaccine Institute of the Philippines by the Department of Science and Technology, an agro-industrial hub and the National Seed Technology Park by the Department of Agriculture, and the Philippine Space Agency headquarters, all under construction, in addition to the Philippine General Hospital Polyclinic which is now operational under the University of the Philippines.

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