The Philippines is putting together a six-node technology corridor designed to connect critical minerals, chip design, advanced manufacturing, artificial intelligence infrastructure, digital connectivity and wafer fabrication into a single domestic technology ecosystem.
The Philippine Technology Corridor is still under development, but most of its components are already covered by existing government and industry programs, according to Board of Investments Managing Head Ceferino Rodolfo.
“The projects already exist. But the program corridor, that’s new,” Rodolfo said. “The lens to look at them towards a whole ecosystem, that’s the new one.”
New Clark City is being positioned as the advanced manufacturing node, building on Clark’s electronics base and industrial infrastructure. It is also the only node currently linked to the US-led Pax Silica initiative.
Metro Manila would anchor integrated circuit design, while Mindanao would focus on mining and mineral processing as the Philippines seeks to move further downstream in the minerals value chain.
Batangas is being eyed as a hub for AI computing and digital infrastructure, with its power capacity, connectivity and coastal location providing potential advantages for data-intensive industries.
Aurora would serve as the corridor’s Pacific-facing digital connectivity node, supported by submarine cable infrastructure in Baler and potential data infrastructure investments.
The most ambitious piece is a proposed wafer fabrication node in Bulacan, which Rodolfo described as “the longest dream.”
The corridor is intended to connect industries that are often developed separately, potentially creating a more integrated domestic technology supply chain—from raw materials and chip design to manufacturing, computing and connectivity.
Rodolfo stressed that the six-node plan is separate from Pax Silica. “For the six nodes, only Clark is the one under Pax Silica,” he said, noting that other nodes could involve Pax Silica partners or entirely separate investors.
