Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) has signed an agreement with Clark Development Corp. (CDC) for the establishment of a world-class casino and other tourism-related projects along the commercial district of the Clark Freeport.

There are now 34 tourism-related projects all costing us$ 197.1 million in Clark with a total committed investment amounting to USD 12 billion and are expected to employ 19,228 workers for the next five years.

CDC President Levy P. Laus, Pagcor Chair Efraim C. Genuino, and Pagcor President Rafael Butch Francisco signed on Wednesday the agreement for the construction of a world-class casino, five star hotel, restaurants, and resorts on a 13.5-hectare area. Laus said the project is expected to employ more than 2,000 workers once operational. He added that the project is being anticipated to jumpstart the development of a casino strip along Clark’s commercial district.

The CDC president added that Clark has steadily emerged as a prime tourist destination after the Americans turned it over to the Philippine government in 1991. “And since it was declared as a Freeport last year, this former United States military facility became a preferred site of local and foreign investors for their tourism-related projects,” Laus said.

Pagcor is a government owned and controlled corporation created in 1977 by virtue of Presidential Decree 1067-A and was amended to PD 1869 on July 11, 1983.