THE Philippines expects to complete within two to three months its negotiations with the United States on a long-term framework for the lease of a 1,618-hectare artificial intelligence (AI) industrial hub in New Clark City, Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) President and CEO Joshua Bingcang said on Wednesday.
“We will have that arrangement signed before the end of the year,” Bingcang said in an interview, adding that the project is part of the US-led Pax Silica initiative to secure supply chains for semiconductors, artificial intelligence, critical minerals and advanced manufacturing.
The signing of the hub is being timed with US President Donald Trump’s expected attendance at the Asean Summit in Manila in November.
Bingcang said the government is ensuring the framework meets Philippine legal requirements. Provisions inconsistent with domestic law — such as a proposed designation of the hub as diplomatic property — would only delay the project.
“That has already been addressed and cleared with the [US] State Department, that they will not push for those concerns because it will be a hindrance moving forward for pushing their Pax Silica,” Bingcang said.
On investor interest, Bingcang said Foxconn and other companies, mostly American, are considering locating at the hub.
To address prospective locators’ concerns over energy supply, Bingcang said the US Development Finance Corp. has approved funding for a feasibility study on a proposed liquefied natural gas terminal and power plant in New Clark City in Tarlac.
Bingcang did not disclose the amount.
In April, the Philippines became the 13th signatory to Pax Silica, whose other members include Australia, India, Japan, South Korea, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Argentina, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
However, it has faced sustained domestic pushback since the Philippines joined. Farmers groups are opposing the conversion of agricultural and coastal land for the project.
A coalition of scientists and technologists has warned the project could lead to “resource plunder” and environmental harm near mining sites, with critics doubting the deal would move the Philippines up the mineral-processing value chain, while a Manila Times commentary characterized Pax Silica as a potential “risk multiplier” that could deepen the country’s geopolitical exposure.
But Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. has described Pax Silica as an industrial, rather than a military, undertaking.
