New Clark City, Philippines, November 22, 2019: Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said government funds for the New Clark City sports venues for the upcoming SEA Games were “well-spent” as he lauded the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) for constructing the facilities “on time and within budget.” “My job is to raise money for the government. When I do that, I also want to see that the money is well-spent and not wasted. “This project, I think, is well-spent, not only for the athletes but also for the pride of our country, and that we now have for the first time in 80 years a world-class sports facility,” said Dominguez, citing the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex, built in 1934. “We want to ensure that we are also world-class when it comes to our athletes because our athletes are really world-class and they really deserve a facility like this,” added Dominguez. Dominguez inspected the New Clark City facilities - some 100km north of Manila - on Thursday, November 21, with government officials, developers and Philippine Olympic Committee President and Rep. Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino. BCDA, together with infrastructure developer MTD Clark, Inc., built the new sports facilities as part of New Clark City Phase 1A in just 18 months since the project broke ground in January 2018. The government officials were joined by national athletes in touring the Athletes’ Village, the 2,000-seater Aquatics Center certified by the International Swimming Federation (FINA), and the 20,000-seater Athletics Stadium with a track certified as Class 1 by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). The 30th SEA Games will take place from November 30 to December 11 with the participation of 11 regional National Olympic Countries. New Clark City will be the main hub for the 56 sports but there will also be venues at Subic Bay, Metro Manila and other cities.
Finance Secretary praises new SEA Games venue project
