SUBIC BAY FREEPORT — The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) announced that cumulative investments in the Subic Bay Freeport breached the $6-billion mark as of March 2010.
This after the agency’s board of directors approved 33 new investment projects with a total worth of $73.56 million from January to March this year.
The new projects represented a 10 percent increase over the number of investments approved in the same period last year, and are projected to create a total of 6,071 new jobs.
SBMA administrator Armand Arreza said the biggest investment that signed in, so far, is the $36.42-million commercial center development project of Subic Bay Town Center Inc., a Filipino-owned company.
The next biggest projects are those proposed by Alubat Aviation Composites Philippines, a German-British firm specializing in aviation repair and maintenance services, with $15 million; Fertuna Holdings Corp., a Filipino firm with $5.36 million for the development of two-level commercial buildings for sublease; Holy Land Subic Foundation, Inc., a Filipino theme park developer with committed investments of $5.34 million; and Filipino hotel operator San Bernardino Shores Beach Resort Corp. with $2.2 million.
Rounding up the top 10 new projects are: Advance Subic Screw Inc. (Taiwanese), with $1.5 million; CW-Subic Bay Dev’t., Inc. (Filipino), $1.49 million; Aviation Concepts Holdings (American/Canadian), $1.1 million; Misung Subic, Inc., (Chinese/Canadian/Filipino), $1 million; and MCOM Subic Corporation (Taiwanese), with $867,000.
Arreza said the SBMA is hoping that the entry of new projects in the first three months of the year “would set the pace for the entire year.”
“But definitely, this is already a good start as the Freeport seems to be bouncing back from the effects of the global financial crisis from the previous year,” he added.
According to SBMA records, the new investment projects approved in the first quarter of 2010 surpassed the previous year’s first quarter record of $31.74-million by $41.82 million, or an increase of 131.78%.
This despite the fact that total Subic investments dipped by 17.11 percent at the end of 2009, when compared to the $249.08 million generated in 2008.
Arreza also pointed out that with the $73.56-million fresh infusions, the SBMA “will be moving right on target” to attain its aim of hitting $8 billion in cumulative investments at the end of 2010.”
The SBMA official’s optimism is buoyed by the agency’s excellent record in investment generation in the past five years. In 2005, when Arreza was appointed administrator, along with PCGA RAdm Feliciano Salonga as chairman, Subic’s cumulative investments stood at only $2.32 billion.
Thereafter, the agency managed to sign in a total of $3.7 billion in committed investments, including big-ticket projects like the Korean shipbuilder Hanjin Heavy Industries Corp.-Phils. that committed $1 billion in 2006 and added another $684-million in 2007 for its expansion project.
Arreza said earlier that the SBMA is eyeing three billion-dollar investments in real estate development this year, despite the lingering effects of the economic crisis.
Last week, the SBMA signed a 50-year lease contract with Sunnew Investments Ltd. of China, for the construction of a $75-milllion wind energy project in two sites at the Subic Freeport.
In 2009, the SBMA approved a total of 201 new projects worth $206.46 million, while in 2008 it signed in a total of 185 new projects worth $249 million.
This after the agency’s board of directors approved 33 new investment projects with a total worth of $73.56 million from January to March this year.
The new projects represented a 10 percent increase over the number of investments approved in the same period last year, and are projected to create a total of 6,071 new jobs.
SBMA administrator Armand Arreza said the biggest investment that signed in, so far, is the $36.42-million commercial center development project of Subic Bay Town Center Inc., a Filipino-owned company.
The next biggest projects are those proposed by Alubat Aviation Composites Philippines, a German-British firm specializing in aviation repair and maintenance services, with $15 million; Fertuna Holdings Corp., a Filipino firm with $5.36 million for the development of two-level commercial buildings for sublease; Holy Land Subic Foundation, Inc., a Filipino theme park developer with committed investments of $5.34 million; and Filipino hotel operator San Bernardino Shores Beach Resort Corp. with $2.2 million.
Rounding up the top 10 new projects are: Advance Subic Screw Inc. (Taiwanese), with $1.5 million; CW-Subic Bay Dev’t., Inc. (Filipino), $1.49 million; Aviation Concepts Holdings (American/Canadian), $1.1 million; Misung Subic, Inc., (Chinese/Canadian/Filipino), $1 million; and MCOM Subic Corporation (Taiwanese), with $867,000.
Arreza said the SBMA is hoping that the entry of new projects in the first three months of the year “would set the pace for the entire year.”
“But definitely, this is already a good start as the Freeport seems to be bouncing back from the effects of the global financial crisis from the previous year,” he added.
According to SBMA records, the new investment projects approved in the first quarter of 2010 surpassed the previous year’s first quarter record of $31.74-million by $41.82 million, or an increase of 131.78%.
This despite the fact that total Subic investments dipped by 17.11 percent at the end of 2009, when compared to the $249.08 million generated in 2008.
Arreza also pointed out that with the $73.56-million fresh infusions, the SBMA “will be moving right on target” to attain its aim of hitting $8 billion in cumulative investments at the end of 2010.”
The SBMA official’s optimism is buoyed by the agency’s excellent record in investment generation in the past five years. In 2005, when Arreza was appointed administrator, along with PCGA RAdm Feliciano Salonga as chairman, Subic’s cumulative investments stood at only $2.32 billion.
Thereafter, the agency managed to sign in a total of $3.7 billion in committed investments, including big-ticket projects like the Korean shipbuilder Hanjin Heavy Industries Corp.-Phils. that committed $1 billion in 2006 and added another $684-million in 2007 for its expansion project.
Arreza said earlier that the SBMA is eyeing three billion-dollar investments in real estate development this year, despite the lingering effects of the economic crisis.
Last week, the SBMA signed a 50-year lease contract with Sunnew Investments Ltd. of China, for the construction of a $75-milllion wind energy project in two sites at the Subic Freeport.
In 2009, the SBMA approved a total of 201 new projects worth $206.46 million, while in 2008 it signed in a total of 185 new projects worth $249 million.
