On a 1,620-hectare (4,000 acres) site north of Manila, a hi-tech hub is pitched by Philippine and US officials as a global gateway to AI, semiconductors and critical minerals.
For critics, however, the proposed development – part of the US-backed global Pax Silica project – is concrete proof of another infrastructure push over contested land at the expense of communities, threatening their livelihood and scarce water supply.
The project is a further example of ambitious investment pitches moving ahead of accountability on environmental safeguards and proper cost-benefit analysis, they say.
Manila is seeking to finalise a framework agreement with Washington for the hub within two to three months, according to Joshua Bingcang, president and chief executive of the state-run Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA).
The BCDA is tasked with turning former US military bases into centres of economic growth, including in New Clark City in Capas, Tarlac province, where the hub is set to be located, about 100km (62 miles) north of Manila.
Pax Silica aims to secure critical supply chains for artificial intelligence, semiconductors and other strategic technologies, with the Philippines and Singapore the only Southeast Asian countries in the 13-member coalition.
Bingcang said that the hub would likely start operations in two years, attract an initial investment of US$10 billion and generate “hundreds of thousands of jobs”.