PH as AI hub? It’s possible with Pax Silica–DICT

MANILA, Philippines — There has been no shortage of public debate in recent weeks over the proposed Pax Silica hub, the controversial artificial intelligence (AI) and industrial enclave that the Philippines and the United States plan to jointly develop on a 1,619-hectare site in New Clark City that was once an American military base.

Despite those concerns, the project appears to be moving ahead at breakneck speed.

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Since the Philippines joined the Washington-led Pax Silica coalition in April, the government has already identified the project site and begun negotiations with the United States on its governance framework.

Taiwanese electronics manufacturing giant Foxconn has emerged as a potential anchor locator, while several American companies have visited the site.

These efforts have been led by the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA), the state-run corporation tasked with transforming former military bases into productive civilian assets.

But beyond BCDA, what role does the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), the government’s lead agency for the country’s digital transformation, see for itself in the project?

In a recent sit-down with reporters, DICT Secretary Henry Aguda offers a glimpse into the agency’s thinking. He frames Pax Silica not simply as a massive standalone development, but as one piece of a broader “master plan” to build the Philippines into an AI hub.

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Double the capacity

That broader vision is the proposed National AI Infrastructure Master Plan, through which the DICT aims to expand the country’s digital infrastructure over the next decade. Under the proposal, the agency estimates the Philippines could have at least 1.5 gigawatts of data center capacity by 2033 while attracting as much as $30 billion in investments over the same period.

At Pax Silica, data centers—the power-intensive and water-consuming facilities needed to support AI workloads—have emerged as one of the most contentious components, particularly as several countries have imposed restrictions or moratoriums on new developments over their environmental impact.

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Aguda, however, sees Pax Silica dramatically expanding the country’s digital backbone. If realized, he says, the hub alone could roughly double the Philippines’ existing data center capacity.

“Here at Pax Silica, it’s around 300 to 400 megawatts. That’s big. The whole Philippines doesn’t even have 200 MW,” Aguda says in a mix of English and Filipino.

That projection comes even as BCDA says only one or two firms are expected to build data centers within Pax Silica, with the remaining locators likely to come from the manufacturing and clean energy sectors.

BCDA president and CEO Joshua Bingcang clarifies that these data centers will most likely be small-scale facilities, not hyperscalers, which he says the current power infrastructure in New Clark City simply “cannot afford” to support.

Bingcang says an American hyperscaler had previously scouted New Clark City before the Philippines joined the Pax Silica initiative but ultimately chose Malaysia because of insufficient power capacity.

Aguda says DICT’s role in the US-backed project will focus on attracting investors and providing technical support, including determining the infrastructure and power requirements needed to accommodate data center operators.

What benefits then does the DICT see in Pax Silica? “Jobs. Digital jobs,” Aguda says.

Courting Silicon Valley

To that end, Aguda says he has been personally pitching the project to major technology companies in Silicon Valley.

“When I go around, I talk to AWS (Amazon Web Services Inc.), Google. Locate here instead,” he says.

READ: 50 firms keen on PH ‘Pax Silica’ hub

According to Aguda, Amazon Web Services has already sent representatives to the Philippines and is expected to return this August with a technical team to evaluate potential sites in Cagayan, Pampanga, Bataan and Batangas.

This visit will build on a June meeting with President Marcos where Amazon bared plans to invest $5 billion, or more than P300 billion, over the next 15 years to build digital infrastructure in the Philippines.

Power, water woes

Attracting data center operators, however, is only one side of the equation. Hosting them will require the Philippines to address the enormous electricity, water and connectivity demands that come with such facilities.

Aguda refutes concerns that data centers will strain the country’s existing electricity and water supply.

On power, he says such facilities are designed to draw electricity from multiple sources, combining grid access with dedicated generation from liquefied natural gas or solar energy to ensure uninterrupted operations.

‘Happy problem’

If demand at Pax Silica eventually outstrips available power, Aguda says he will consider it a “happy problem to have” because it will indicate that the Philippines has built out its digital infrastructure at a scale far beyond current levels.

Aguda likewise seeks to allay fears that data centers will compete with nearby communities for drinking water, saying modern facilities rely on closed-loop cooling systems that recycle water instead of continuously drawing fresh supply.

“That has all been thought through. Their concern is that we might run out of drinking water. That’s not the case,” Aguda says in Filipino.

He also argues that restrictions on new data center developments in some countries could ultimately benefit the Philippines by prompting hyperscale operators to look elsewhere.

For Aguda, the Philippines’ location, coupled with its network of 14 international submarine fiber-optic cables, gives it a window to capture some of that demand.

“What they’re going to do is they’re going to push their capacity requirement to other countries,” he says. “The Philippines is available.” INQ