BCDA: 0ver 30 Firms Interested In Pax Silica Project

About 30 companies have expressed interest in investing under Pax Silica, a US-led project to be launched in New Clark City, which is expected to generate as much as P75 billion in annual tax revenues and 190,000 jobs, an official said on Thursday, July 23.

Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) president and chief executive officer Joshua Bingcang said the firms eyeing to invest under the initiative include those engaged in manufacturing, technology and energy.

“We now have several letters of interest... More than 20, I can say 30 companies are interested,” Bingcang said in a press briefing at Malacañang.

“For now, we cannot entertain them yet fully because we need to help (finalize) the final agreement,” he added.

On its website, the US State Department described Pax Silica as an effort on artificial intelligence (AI) and supply chain security designed to promote a new economic security consensus among its allies and trusted partners.

Fourteen countries have joined the initiative, which aims to bring together US partners to build secure, trusted and resilient supply chains for critical minerals, advanced manufacturing and other inputs needed for AI-driven industries. The Philippines joined the project last April.

The project entails the construction of the Pax Silica New Clark City, a 1,620-hectare industrial and innovation district that integrates semiconductor packaging, electronics, AI computing, research and development and mineral processing. The project’s framework agreement is expected to be signed in November.

Bingcang said the project requires an initial investment of about $10 billion. Once fully operational, the initiative will require $40 billion to $70 billion in investment. Pax Silica is expected to create 130,000 to 190,000 direct jobs and 500,000 to 800,000 indirect or induced jobs, he added.

The initiative is also expected to contribute P68 billion in tax revenues every year and to earn P60 billion in lease income over 25 years. Its export potential at full buildout has been pegged at $200 billion.

Bingcang said the BCDA is hoping that the final framework agreement would be inked this year. If the expected timeframe is realized, construction activities may start in 2028.

“Normally, projects like this one have phases, a short-term phase, which is normally three to five years, which involves the site development, signing and construction, three to five years. But (with) full development, we see this happening even more than 10 to 15 years,” the BCDA president said.

Bingcang said the policies governing investments would be predictable even after the Marcos administration steps down.

“In our contract, we provide those kinds of security and safety provisions, such that they will transcend different timelines. Just like the contract entered into by the BCDA recently, it will properly pass through several layers of other government agencies who are entrusted to make sure this will pass the test of time,” he said.

“Actually, our foreign partners are asking how to make sure that there’s predictability, certainty in the contract. The contracts of the BCDA last for more than 30 years and go through different timelines.”

Bingcang said the BCDA wants the deals to be treated as a commercial business contract devoid of any other risks and “immune from any environmental situation.