The Aurora Pacific Economic Zone and Freeport Authority (APECO) is stepping up its bid to transform Aurora into the country’s next Pacific gateway, seeking government support to prepare four big-ticket infrastructure projects for private investment.
APECO President and Chief Executive Officer Gil Taway said the agency will tap the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Center’s Project Development and Monitoring Facility (PDMF) to bankroll feasibility studies for an international seaport, airport expansion, the proposed Central Luzon East-West Railway, and the Central Luzon East-West High-Speed Road Network.
The projects, identified after consultations with the PPP Center, are intended to anchor Aurora’s emergence as a new logistics hub on the Pacific coast and strengthen the Luzon Economic Corridor.
“During our training with the PPP Center, we have already identified four projects,” Taway said. “After reviewing and understanding the entire process, we want to advance these four projects in our talks with them.”
Taway said the missing link is connectivity.
“Even if we have an airport and seaport, if the logistics are not tied to APECO, we cannot fulfill the whole potential of the Philippines to facilitate land travel and transshipment between the east and west coasts,” he said.
The proposed railway and expressway would reconnect Central Luzon to Casiguran, opening a faster east-west trade route and giving exporters an alternative Pacific-facing gateway.
APECO is also lining up potential foreign partners. Taway said a French company with links to the French government has expressed interest in the airport and railway projects, while an American firm is exploring infrastructure investments worth more than USD500 million.
Securing PDMF funding would move the projects from concept to investment-ready proposals, a crucial milestone in attracting private capital. More broadly, the plan reflects the government’s push to expand logistics infrastructure beyond traditional ports, diversify trade routes, and position Aurora as a strategic complement to the rapidly growing Luzon Economic Corridor.
