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Manila: The Philippines is preparing to court some of the world’s biggest technology companies — including Apple, Nvidia, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and Qualcomm — to locate advanced manufacturing operations at the planned Pax Silica “hub” in New Clark City (NCC), about 100km north of the capital.
The 1,619-hectare development in Tarlac is being positioned as the foundation of a wider Philippine tech corridor that could link chip design in Metro Manila, critical minerals in Mindanao, artificial-intelligence (AI) data centres in Batangas and digital infrastructure on the Pacific coast.
The Philippines is not new to chips manufacturing.
The Asian nation generates about ~$50 billion/year exporting semiconductor components and devices, particularly electronic integrated circuits and microchips.
This category accounts for roughly 73% of the local electronics manufacturing sector, and serves major global supply chains for computers, smartphones, and AI infrastructure, according to an industry report.
As of late 2026, the US-led Pax Silica alliance consists of 25 signatory nations, including Australia, Japan, South Korea, India, Singapore, Israel, the UAE, and the UK aimed to safeguard advanced technology ecosystems.
Global tech giants targeted
Bases Conversion and Development Authority President and CEO Joshua Bingcang said the government plans to approach major technology firms once the New Clark City ecosystem and its master agreement with US counterparts are in place.
The government’s initial wish list includes:
“We are going to invite them once the ecosystem is available,” Bingcang said at a forum organized by the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines. “Once the agreement is signed, we’re going to court them together with our private sector partners.”
The strategy is not merely to attract factories. Bingcang said the long-term goal is to move the Philippines beyond being a consumer market or assembly location and toward greater participation in high-value technology production.
“One day, we want to have our own brand,” he said. “The Philippines should have its own brand. We should not just be buyers, but producers of these companies.”
Development could start in 2027
BCDA is negotiating a master agreement with US government counterparts for Pax Silica, which has been presented as part of a broader US-Philippine effort to strengthen secure and diversified technology supply chains.
If the agreement is signed by the target date of November, site development could begin as early as 2027, Bingcang said.
Tech Hub
The facility slated for the Philippines is touted as an AI-native industrial acceleration hub or Economic Security Zone.
Planned across 4,000 acres (1,620 hectares) in Tarlac, within the “Luzon Economic Corridor”, the envisioned zone differs from traditional economic or data-hosting parks.
It would operate under a specific design framework tailored for the next generation of supply chain resilience.
It aims to be a purpose-built environment where specific industrial operations are directly shaped by real-time market demand and the collective geopolitical needs of the Pax Silica network.
Rather than serving a single company, it functions as a multi-jurisdictional platform for friendly nations.
The full project is a long-term undertaking.
BCDA has previously said complete development may take up to 30 years, while the first locators could begin arriving within three to five years of the project’s start.
The agency estimates Pax Silica could generate P180 billion in government income and create as many as 190,000 jobs over the project’s lifetime.
Why other countries are interested
While Pax Silica is central to Washington’s technology and supply-chain push, the BCDA said it does not intend to limit New Clark City to US investment.
Bingcang said the agency is in preliminary discussions with at least three other countries about industrial developments in the area.
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South Korea is planning to lease at least 250 hectares in New Clark City.
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Singapore is targeting a larger 300-hectare site.
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Taiwan is also considering a land lease in the area.
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Other countries: Developments led by other countries may be smaller than Pax Silica but could still support the broader advanced-manufacturing ecosystem.
“We want to assure that we’re not just limiting the option to one country,” Bingcang said. “There are other opportunities.”
New Clark City was master-planned for industrial and advanced-manufacturing uses, giving the government a large development footprint at a time when countries are competing for semiconductor, electronics, AI and clean-technology investments.
The Philippine technology corridor
Pax Silica is designed as the first link in a larger national industrial plan.
Trade Undersecretary Ceferino Rodolfo has said Muntinlupa is being considered for the integrated-circuit design hub because of its access to academic institutions and technology-industry talent.
Mindanao, meanwhile, would be expected to support the corridor with minerals and materials essential to electronics, batteries and advanced manufacturing.
Batangas is being positioned for energy-intensive AI-compute data centers and cloud infrastructure, while Casiguran could serve as a Pacific-facing digital gateway under the proposed Pax Pacifica initiative.
The real challenge
The Philippines’ ambition faces serious execution tests.
Winning commitments from companies such as TSMC, Nvidia or Apple’s suppliers will depend on more than available land.
Investors will assess reliable and competitively priced electricity, water supply, ports, airports, fiber connectivity, skilled engineers, regulatory certainty, customs efficiency, environmental permitting and the ability to protect sensitive technology.
The country will also need a workforce pipeline that extends beyond electronics assembly to chip design, process engineering, materials science, robotics, AI, cybersecurity and advanced manufacturing.
Pax Silica’s promise is bigger than simply being a new industrial estate.
It is a bid to place the Philippines more deeply inside the global tech supply chain — and, eventually, to help create Filipino-designed and Filipino-branded technologies and products (smart airconditioning without refrigerant?) rather than only products assembled for foreign firms.
Fact file: Pax Silica
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Project: Pax Silica advanced-manufacturing hub
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Location: New Clark City, Tarlac
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Land area: 1,619 hectares
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Lead Philippine agency: Bases Conversion and Development Authority
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Potential construction start: 2027, subject to a master agreement targeted for November
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First locators: Expected within three to five years, based on BCDA’s earlier projections
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Full buildout: Could take up to 30 years
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Estimated government income: P180 billion
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Estimated jobs: Up to 190,000
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Target sectors: Semiconductors, electronics, AI infrastructure, advanced manufacturing, cloud and digital systems
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Key investor targets: Apple, Nvidia, TSMC, MediaTek, UMC, Qualcomm, AMD and Broadcom
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International interest cited by BCDA: United States, South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan
