THE 1,619-hectare (4,000-acre) artificial intelligence (AI)-aided industrial hub under the Pax Silica initiative will break ground in New Clark City before President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ends its term, Bases Conversion Development Authority (BCDA) President and CEO Joshua Bingcang told reporters on Friday.
“We will make it happen within two years, still under the Marcos administration,” Bingcang said.
The project is part of Pax Silica, a United States-led international initiative launched in December 2025 to secure, diversify and build resilient supply chains for semiconductors, critical minerals and AI technologies among allied nations including Australia, Finland, India, Israel, Japan, South Korea, Qatar, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and the Philippines.
Pax is Latin for peace, connoting stability and long-term prosperity, while silica refers to silicon dioxide, the precursor to silicon, which is the foundational material for the semiconductor chips that power modern computing and AI.
Development of the hub will undergo several phases, said Bingcang.
There will be a two-year grace period on lease payments, an unconditional in-kind contribution to support the development of economic cooperation initiatives between the Philippines and the US.
“The annual lease rate from the third year onward will be determined separately under a subsequent agreement,” Bingcang said in a previous statement.
Following the Philippines’ joining the Pax Silica, Board of Investments Managing Head and Trade Undersecretary Ceferino Rodolfo told reporters that there are five companies from two countries interested in investing in the country.
The companies are into AI-tech manufacturing, transition energy and infrastructure, Rodolfo said.
For future locators in the hub, the BCDA is offering incentives under the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises to Maximize Opportunities for Reinvigorating the Economy (Create More) Act, as well as other benefits, Bingcang said.
While the US, as the master lessee, will take the lead in developing the site, investor participation will still be subject to BCDA’s guidelines.
“We have design standards and guidelines on what businesses are allowed. The BCDA have the final say on whether to accept it or not,” Bingcang said.
