The planned Pax Silica industrial hub in New Clark City is targeting its first 10 to 20 locators within five years of construction, with an ambitious goal of generating as much as USD200 billion in exports over a 30-year development period.
Bases Conversion and Development Authority President and Chief Executive Officer Joshua Bingcang said construction of the 1,600-hectare hub is expected to begin in 2028, with the first phase covering about 500 hectares.
“We expect to start construction in 2028. Within five years, we expect a portion of the locators to come in, with contracts already being signed,” Bingcang said in a briefing Friday.
The USD200-billion export target is based on a 30-year financial and development model, reflecting the long gestation period envisioned for the project. Its export contribution is expected to grow as more facilities are built, and industrial capacity expands.
Rather than relying on a single industry, the hub is expected to accommodate a mix of industrial, science-based and other businesses. Locators are expected to invest in and construct their own facilities as roads, power, water and other utilities are developed.
That infrastructure build-out will be central to the project’s success, particularly as concerns grow over the potential demands on power and water.
Resource efficiency is also being incorporated into the development, including a proposed requirement for locators to capture and reuse part of the water they consume.
Trade Undersecretary Ceferino Rodolfo, meanwhile, sought to dispel perceptions that Pax Silica is primarily a data-center project.
He said the hub will be predominantly industrial, supporting large-scale manufacturing and related industries rather than being built mainly for hyperscalers.
Rodolfo cited New Clark City’s existing master plan, environmental compliance certificate, titled public land, infrastructure, and established semiconductor and electronics ecosystem as key advantages.
The bigger test will be converting those advantages into factories, investments, and sustained export capacity.
With development set for 2028, Pax Silica is being designed as a long-term industrial platform whose economic contribution will emerge gradually as the site fills out.
