An evening travel by coach up to Subic Bay Freeport Zone for an overnight stay on the former US naval base was followed by a full-day visit to Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) for an account of the history and development of the Freeport, and the investment and development guidelines governing potential interest and participation. Additionally, the group visited Subic Bay Waterfront Development, the major waterfront and yacht club within the Zone.

The highpoint of the trip was the visit to the Asian Development Bank (ADB) HQ in Manila for a briefing on the procurement guidelines under ADB funded arrangements for major development projects. A guided tour of the Bank’s information and library facilities completed the visit. A half-day was spent at the National Power Corporation (NPC) with a series of talks focused on procurement arrangements for power projects managed by the Corporation through the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) mode. 

The President of the NPC – Mr Guido Alfredo A. Delgado graced the occasion to deliver a warm welcome to the visiting delegation. Intended to be the single largest development scheme in Manila at that point in time, Fort Bonifacio Development Corporation provided the delegation with a comprehensive account of Fort Bonifacio Global City and what it took to project manage the planning stages of a development scheme of that scale and magnitude. A visit to Rockwell Land Corporation gave the group a first-hand appreciation of another major private sector development scheme.