By HENRY EMPEÑO | 

SUBIC BAY FREEPORT — New investment projects approved by the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) in the first semester of this year reached a total of P2.85 billion, marking a 290 percent increase over the total commitments made in the same period last year.

SBMA Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma said the 45 new investment proposals green-lighted by the SBMA Board represented a “significant harvest of business commitments and opportunities for Subic (which) remains to be one of the strongest economic drivers in the country today.”

The first semester projects, which are projected to generate 2,439 new jobs in the Subic Bay Freeport Zone, brought cumulative investment commitments here to P499.6 billion, Eisma added.

According to the SBMA Business and Investment Group, the biggest investment commitment in the first semester was made by Citic Hotels and Leisures Corporation, which carries the world-renowned five-star hotel Wyndham brand.

The Citic proposal, which covers a seafront area near Subic’s popular Boardwalk Park, was worth P1.34 billion and will generate 2,000 new jobs.

The second biggest new project approved by the SBMA was an Air Juan Aviation proposal for air transportation services and charter passenger flights to various points in the country. The firm will invest P671.47 million and hire 10 workers.

GGG Technology Inc., meanwhile, proposed a P200-million project that will involve an initial workforce of 110 to engage in manufacturing, assembly and refurbishing of high-technology consumer electronics.

The fourth largest project was that of First Aviation Academy Inc., which proposes to offer various aviation-related courses to airline and non-airline employees and individuals. It will infuse P156.6 million into the business, and hire 28 workers.

The fifth biggest proposal was that of Vortex Oil and Gas Solutions Corp. for the import and export, trading, selling and distribution of petroleum products with a committed investment of P100 million and a workforce of five employees.

Aside from P2.85-billion worth of the investment commitments, the SBMA also approved 13 expansion projects by existing business locators here.

The expansion projects, which are worth a total of P276 million and projected to generate 286 new jobs, “only show that businesses continue to grow in Subic,” Eisma said.

Eisma also said the Subic agency hopes to create more business opportunities here, as it arranges cooperation programs with neighboring communities to host additional investment projects.

She cited the memorandum of agreement signed on August 17 between the SBMA, the China National Heavy Machinery Corporation, and the local government of Hermosa, Bataan, for the development of a techno-industrial facility at the Hermosa part of the Subic Bay Freeport Zone.

As of June this year, the Subic Bay Freeport Zone hosts a total of 1,596 business locators with a total workforce of 133,940.

TOP PHOTO: SBMA Chairman Wilma T. Eisma signs a memorandum of agreement with China National Heavy Machinery Corp.  (CNHMC) Chairman and President Xiao Ping (2^nd, left), CNHMC Vice President Zhang Fei, and Hermosa, Bataan Mayor Jopet Inton (right) for the development of a techno-industrial facility at the Subic Bay Freeport. Witnessing the signing is SBMA Chief of Staff Vicente Evidente. (Photo by Jun Dumaguing)