The Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) will grant a two-year grace period on lease payments for a 4,000-acre site in New Clark City designated for the Pax Silica Coordination Office to build an AI ecosystem, accelerate innovation, and attract high-value investments.
BCDA President and CEO Joshua M. Bingcang made the announcement following the recent agreement between the Philippines and the United States to establish the first-ever AI-native industrial acceleration hub in Clark. This hub is a key component of the Luzon Economic Corridor and will host industrial facilities for critical minerals processing, semiconductors, advanced manufacturing, and AI.
The Coordination Office will be the first of its kind under the Pax Silica initiative and is designated as a “Golden Node,” a new model for AI-native investment acceleration hubs. The initiative brings together a network of trusted partners to promote a transparent global governance framework for developing secure, resilient, and innovation-driven silicon supply chains—spanning critical minerals, semiconductors, advanced manufacturing, and AI.
It also builds on the recently signed Philippines–United States Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in Critical Minerals Development, signaling the country’s intent to move into higher-value segments of global technology supply chains while strengthening industrial and export competitiveness.
Bingcang said the two-year grace period on lease payments will be treated as an unconditional in-kind contribution to support the development of economic cooperation initiatives between the two countries. The annual lease rate starting in the third year will be determined under a separate agreement.
The Pax Silica Coordination Office will serve as a hub where technology firms, research institutions, and government agencies can converge to build a robust AI ecosystem, accelerate innovation, and attract high-value investments.
Bingcang said this development places New Clark City at the center of a pivotal transformation—one that will help shape a more innovative, inclusive, and future-ready Philippines.
“By establishing this Golden Node, we stand to position New Clark City as a vital link in the global supply chain for advanced technologies and next-generation manufacturing. On the ground, this will translate into more quality job opportunities for Filipinos and greater participation of local enterprises in the growing innovation-driven economy across the globe,” he said.
“The Golden Node is not about recreating the factories of the last century. It is about building the manufacturing ecosystems of the next century—AI-native from day one, anchored in the rule of law, and integrated into a network of trusted nations that will define global supply chain resilience for decades to come,” U.S. Undersecretary of State for Economic Affairs Jacob Helberg said in a separate statement.
