The United States and the Philippines will develop a 4,000-acre industrial hub in New Clark City after the Philippines joined Pax Silica, a U.S.-led effort to protect AI and semiconductor supply chains. The hub will sit in the Luzon Economic Corridor and is part of trilateral infrastructure commitments with Japan and the U.S. Officials say the facility will support allied manufacturing and strengthen supply-chain resilience, though timelines and investment details are still being finalized.
US and Philippines To Build 4,000-Acre Industrial Hub In New Clark City To Secure AI And Semiconductor Supply Chains
Semiconductor chips are seen on a circuit board of a computer in this illustration picture taken February 25, 2022. REUTERS/Florence Lo/Illustration
The United States and the Philippines have announced plans to develop a 4,000-acre (1,620-hectare) industrial hub in New Clark City after Manila joined Pax Silica, a U.S.-led initiative to strengthen AI and semiconductor supply chains, the U.S. State Department said.
What the Project Covers
The hub will be located within the Luzon Economic Corridor — a strategic cluster of economic activity that includes the capital, Manila, and surrounding industrial zones. Under a trilateral framework, the Philippines, Japan and the United States have pledged to increase infrastructure investment in the corridor to support allied manufacturing and related supply chains.
Pax Silica And Strategic Aims
Pax Silica is a program aimed at safeguarding the full technology supply chain, from critical minerals and advanced manufacturing to computing and data infrastructure. The Philippines is the 13th country to join the initiative, alongside partners including Australia, Finland, India, Qatar, South Korea and Singapore.
"It is intended to serve as a staging point for a purpose-built platform for allied manufacturing," the State Department said, noting the partners' commitment to reinforcing shared supply chains in critical minerals, semiconductors, electronics and other goods.
Site, Ownership And Local Plans
The facility is slated for New Clark City, a government-owned planned metropolis north of Manila developed by the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA). BCDA Chairman Hilario Paredes said authorities will assess whether sufficient contiguous state land is available and that final details still need to be agreed.
"We will check if we have space that is contiguous," Paredes said. "We will have to sit down and finalise the details." He added the envisioned hub would operate as a commercial facility.
Context And Significance
New Clark City sits on state land that was formerly part of a U.S. military reservation transferred to the Philippine government after U.S. forces left bases in 1991. The agreement reflects deepening ties between Manila and Washington under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and fits into broader U.S. efforts to diversify and secure technology supply chains amid regional geopolitical competition.
Timelines, specific investors, and the precise scope of manufacturing and infrastructure to be located at the hub have not yet been released. Planners say the project is intended to catalyze allied manufacturing capacity and reduce dependence on rival states for critical technology components.
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