CLARK International Airport Corp. (CIAC) and the government-owned Philippine Pharma Procurement Inc. (PPPI) yesterday signed an agreement to jointly establish a pharmaceutical logistics and distribution center within the Clark Aviation Capital (CAC) at the Clark Freeport Zone.
The Memorandum of Understanding signed by the two parties in Makati on April 7 aims “to strengthen CIAC transformation into the country’s premier logistics hub.”
In a statement, Jojit Alcazar CIAC president said both CIAC and PPPI will further explore investment plans, joint ventures, or Public-Private Partnership options, while ensuring compliance with pharmaceutical industry regulations and cold chain management standards.
“There’s a mutual appreciation of Clark’s distinctly viable location to build a pharmaceutical logistics hub with air cargo handling capabilities which moved us swiftly to formalize this understanding,” Alcazar said.
Strategic location
“We look forward to this great opportunity as Clark’s strategic location provides a sprawling and uncongested complex in close proximity to Clark International Airport, major seaports, and national road networks in a disaster-resilient environment,” PPPI President Maria Blanca Kim Lokin said.
“This opportunity provides unparalleled advantage for PPPl’s logistics operations and medical supply distribution, and ideal for us to build an integrated modern warehousing with cold chain solutions,” she added.
Lokin said the partnership will also support President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s vision to establish pharmaceutical ecozones to improve access to medicines and reduce the country’s dependence on imported pharmaceutical products.
Clark hosts global cargo leaders FedEX, UPS, and DHL, and the collaboration with the only government-run pharmaceutical company in the country further positions CIAC to be the premier global civil aviation logistics hub of the Philippines, Alcazar added.
The Clark Aviation Capital is located at the Clark Freeport Zone and is home of the Clark International Airport.
Because of its strategic location at the heart of Luzon, it is primed as the country’s premier aviation-centric business and logistics center.
PPPI is an attached agency of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) tasked to manage investments in pharmaceuticals and related commercial ventures to provide low-priced quality medicine and medical supplies to both government and private hospitals and other health facilities nationwide.
