News &Views at the Base - Philippines Bases Conversion and ...

Cover StoryShown (from Left) Mr. Tsunemi Nagata, Project Manager, Oriental Consultant-Katahira & Engineers-Nippon Koei; Engr. Joshua M. Bingcang, SCTEX ProjectManager, Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA); MGen EduardoJ Lena (Ret), SCTEX Program Director, BCDA; and Mr. Youichi Inoue, ProjectManager, Hazama Corporation at the Nagoya Congress Center, Aichi, Japan,venue of the recently held 11th International Conference on Asphalt Pavements.RP showcasesat Int’l confaThe infamous eruption ofMt. Pinatubo in June 1991,reputedly the secondlargest volcanic explosion of the20th century, is also consideredthe largest eruption in livingmemory. Resulting ash cloudssoared as high as 22 miles intothe sky, with subsequent heavyrainfall setting off massivelandslides of volcanic mudknown as lahar.Damage infl icted by the phenomenon was estimatedat billions of dollars, with hundreds of houses and otherstructures either collapsing under the sheer weight ofvolcanic ash or swept away by lahar fl ows that inundatedentire towns and communities, in the process wreakinghavoc in the social and economic life of the people inCentral Luzon.The lahar apparently caused much destruction thanthe volcanic explosion itself.Almost two decades later, however, what used to bea social and economic bane in Central Luzon now formspart of a 21st century roadway, propelling commerceand property valuation upwards and serving as a dynamofor and properties the sustainable development of threebusiness hubs in the region.8