By Henry Empeño | September 13, 2026

SUBIC BAY FREEPORT — The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) briefed here on Friday, September 11, a delegation of foreign investors and industry leaders, pointing out business opportunities available in Subic Bay in connection with the Luzon Economic Corridor (LEC) initiative.

The delegation, led by U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) Deputy Director and CEO Thomas R. Hardy, visited the free port as part of the inaugural LEC Investment Forum in Manila, which gathered some 600 investors and industry leaders in transportation, energy, digital infrastructure and advanced manufacturing supply chains.

SBMA Chairman and Administrator Eduardo Jose Aliño said the delegates engaged in business-to-business meetings with Subic locators and the SBMA Business Group, and checked out the sea port and industrial parks here.

“Although the details of possible investment projects in Subic are all laid out in the LEC Deal Book, there’s nothing like seeing these potential projects in living color and discuss business matters face-to-face,” Aliño said in his welcome message.

He urged the visitors to look closely into business prospects in Subic, particularly the port expansion projects in the area, which he said would heighten Subic’s role as the logistical backbone for the LEC.

The SBMA is positioning Subic for a bigger role in the LEC project, which was initially an infrastructure and economic partnership between the Philippines, the United States, and Japan, but which has lately gained the participation of 10 other countries.

Aliño said on Friday that the Subic leg of the LEC Forum “widens the net for Subic as the preferred port and the primary maritime conduit of the Pax Silica initiative and the LEC.”

Subic was named last July as the preferred maritime gateway for Pax Silica operations in an agreement between the SBMA and the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA), which presses for the establishment of an AI-based industrial hub at the New Clark City in Tarlac.

Under the agreement, the two agencies established a cooperation framework to support, study, and promote the use of Subic Bay for maritime logistics, cargo handling, import and export, data integration, and related supply chain activities.

The USTDA meanwhile announced on Thursday, September 10, that it will fund a feasibility study to expand the facilities of the Subic Drydock Corp. (SDC) here, which handles repairs, including those for Philippine and American naval vessels.

The study, to be undertaken by DM Consulting, Inc. of California, is expected to develop a construction-ready design to increase SDC’s pier by an additional 169 meters to enable repair of larger ships.

The USTDA funding is seen to be part of a $100-million foreign assistance package discussed by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio when he met with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. during the latter’s official visit to Washington, D.C. on July 21.

According to a July 22 statement attributed to Department of State Spokesperson Thomas Pigott, the said assistance was meant “to upgrade infrastructure and advance logistics and energy projects in Subic, as well as the upcoming inaugural Luzon Economic Corridor Investment Forum in September.” ▲

COVER PHOTO: SBMA officials led by Chairman Eduardo Jose l. Aliño attend the LEC Investment Forum (L-R): Seaport Department Assistant General Manager Mike Lazaro, DA for Operations Atty. Martin Kristoffer Roman, SBMA Director Yuri Allado, Chairman Aliño, SDA for Operations Ronnie Yambao, and LEC Operating Advisor Nishant D’ Souza.