Include private sector in Pax Silica plans, gov’t urged

Composite image from INQUIRER files

One of the Philippines’ largest telecommunications companies has called on the government to ensure that the local private sector has a role in the Pax Silica hub, a high-tech industrial enclave envisioned to generate billions of dollars in investments and exports.

Planned for New Clark City, the artificial intelligence (AI) hub is expected to attract $40 billion to $70 billion in infrastructure investments and generate $200 billion in annual exports, according to the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA), the Philippine agency leading the project alongside its US counterparts.

It is expected to break ground as early as 2028, with full development eyed within 30 years.

Even as the master agreement for the hub remains under development, Globe Telecom Inc., part of the Ayala Group, said the local private sector should already be engaged to identify potential opportunities for the project.

“We see Pax Silica as an important conversation for the country, and the private sector should be part of it,” Globe president and CEO Carl Cruz said in a statement. “Philippine companies already bring different capabilities to the table, and there is value in looking at how these can complement the government’s efforts as the opportunities become clearer.”

Telcos themselves have a particularly strong interest in Pax Silica, Globe said.

According to the Board of Investments (BOI), the planned hub—now dubbed the Clark Advanced Manufacturing Park—would focus on producing components needed for advanced technologies, including semiconductors and other electronics parts.

Both the BCDA and BOI have ruled out data centers for the New Clark City site, which they said could not support the vast power and water requirements of such facilities.

Instead, the government is looking at Batangas as a hub for AI compute data centers and other digital infrastructure under a broader Philippine “technology corridor” plan that also includes the New Clark City site.

Globe said telcos have a “natural role” in supporting these hubs, as AI, cloud computing, advanced manufacturing and other technology-intensive industries depend on reliable and resilient digital infrastructure.

“Our role is to make sure that, where connectivity is needed, we are ready to support,” Cruz said. “This is a broader national effort, and each industry will have something different to contribute. What is important at this stage is that the private sector is engaged in the conversation and looking at where it can meaningfully help.”

Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala, chair of the broader Ayala Corp., earlier expressed particular interest in the Pax Silica hub, which he described as “a rare opportunity where there is US emphasis on the Philippines.”

Zobel had thus urged Philippine companies to begin exploring how they could participate in the planned hub.