Filipino Time
The promise of a grade 1A, Olympic-rated sports facility in the country was made to our national athletes decades ago, back in the day of Lydia de Vega, Asia’s fastest woman in the 1980s. Finally, it appears the promise will be fulfilled in time for the 30th Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games), the fourth that the Philippines is hosting.
What comes as a surprise to many is that the five-billion-peso New Clark City Sports Complex will be turned over two months ahead of the original date in October. The early turnover gives the Philippine hosts three full months to test and prep the facilities before the biennial regional multi-sport event takes place from November 30 to December 10. In a nation where the construction of national monuments and government projects often start and end at the last minute (with the paint and finishes still damp at the ribbon cutting ceremony), the early turnover is astonishing indeed.
Architect Budji+Royal Architecture+Design and developers MTD Philippines (owned by MTD Capital Berhad of Malaysia) and the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) are ebullient
