Vol. XXI, No. 241 [ BusinessWorld Online ]
Wednesday, July 9, 2008 | MANILA, PHILIPPINES
SUBIC BAY FREEPORT — Annual export earnings of this freeport zone are projected to rise three-fold to $3 billion in five years from the current $900 million, largely due to ships made to order here.
Export earnings here rose 50% to $900 million last year from $600 million.
A press statement quoted Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Administrator Armand Arreza as saying that with the full operation of Hanjin Heavy Industries Corp.-Philippines (HHIC-Phil), there will be 43 more ships that will be built in the next five years in the Korean firm’s shipyard.
"The economic significance of Hanjin’s contribution cannot be overemphasized," Mr. Arreza said, citing the 3,000 workers presently employed by Hanjin.
"Because of the tireless efforts of these Filipino workmen, Hanjin will continue to expand and will employ 21,000 workers by 2010," Mr. Arreza said.
He added that Subic Freeport has become a focal point of the government’s vision to strengthen shipbuilding and ship repair sector.
"Not only do we host the Hanjin shipyard, we also have two ship repair facilities — the Subic Dry Dock and the Subic Shipyard," Mr. Arreza said. "We now have all the components to become a major shipbuilding power in the ASEAN [Association of Southeast Asian Nations] region."
Mr. Arreza said that ships are not just being built in Subic but are also now being designed here.
"Ships are now being designed, built and launched purely here in Subic Bay ," Mr. Arreza said.
During the launching of the first Subic-made ship MV Argolikos last July 3, President Gloria M. Arroyo had said that Hanjin shipyard would boost the government’s plan to develop the Clark-Subic corridor into a competitive international service and logistics center in Southeast Asia.
"The Subic-Clark Corridor is at the northern edge of the super region that we call the Luzon urban beltway which extends all the way from Subic through Metro Manila to Calabarzon to Batangas port," Ms. Arroyo said.
The economic activity along this beltway generated 55% of national production and the biggest challenge of the beltway is to remain competitive, she added.
"The Subic-Clark corridor literally opened a few months ago when we inaugurated the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway," Ms. Arroyo said, saying that the new road enabled a 30-minute drive between Diosdado Macapagal International Airport in Clark and the Subic Bay International Airport. — RMG
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