By HENRY EMPEÑO

SUBIC BAY FREEPORT — At least two major investment projects from Filipino-American companies are now being targeted by the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) following talks with the Federation of Philippine American Chambers of Commerce (FPACC) during a week-long swing among key business centers in the United States last month.

SBMA Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma, who joined the trade mission organized by the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI), said the Subic agency aims to tap FPACC members to gain fresh key investment packages for the industrial and maritime sectors in the Subic Bay Freeport.

She said that an estimated $1-billion investment is being considered by an American-Chinese venture to develop a portion of the Redondo Peninsula in Subic for a possible industrial, maritime and mixed-use complex.

The SBMA had recently revoked a $798-million solar and industrial estate project that one company had proposed at Redondo due to the reported failure by the proponent to meet financial requirements, but the SBMA said it is open to new proposals.

Aside from this, Eisma said that another FPACC member based in California is also planning a $20-million investment for a waste-to-energy project and related renewable energy projects in the Subic Bay Freeport.

The FPACC, which has 42 chapters in the United States and around 5,000 member-companies, bridges U.S.-Philippines trade and commerce, and promotes goodwill and mutually beneficial projects between the two countries.

Eisma was present when the FPACC renewed its memorandum of understanding with the PCCI on Nov. 11 in a ceremony in Scottsdale, Arizona.

During the trade mission, Eisma also signed an agreement with the Virginia Port Authority and worked out a similar agreement with the Los Angeles Port Authority, for the sharing of expertise in port development and promotion of trade and commerce among the ports.

“It’s a very promising situation as far as the FPACC members are concerned, and we have at least two major investment prospects and two port agreements as a result of the trip,” Eisma said.

“We are looking forward to more engagement with these interested parties so that we can finally clinch a business deal with them,” she added.

In the same trade mission, Eisma also discussed some project with Google for a seminar on robotics and artificial intelligence (AI) in Subic next year.

She said that two technical supervisors from the Internet search giant will visit the Subic Freeport in June 2018 to teach students in and around the Subic community as part of the firm’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) program.

Eisma said this will be a significant development, as the SBMA plans to eventually develop in Subic a center of excellence in this field.

The SBMA official also gave interviews to two local media outfits—one based in Chicago on Nov. 11, and another in Arizona on Nov. 12 during the PCCI- FPACC event—on the success of the Subic Bay Freeport which recently observed its 25^th founding anniversary late last month.

In Chicago, Eisma was also chosen by a publication as finalist in the “Chicago Filipino-Asian American Hall of Fame Award in Government.”

 

Top Photo: SBMA Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma, along with SBMA Seaport Marketing manager Ronnie Yambao (right), discusses expansion plans for the Port of Subic with Los Angeles Port Authority Trade Development Director Jim MacLellan