MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines and the United States plan to jointly develop the Pax Silica hub, an artificial intelligence and industrial enclave on a 1,619-hectare site in New Clark City that was once an American military base. Since the Philippines joined the Washington-led Pax Silica coalition in April, the government has identified the project site and begun negotiations with the U.S. on its governance framework. Taiwanese electronics manufacturing giant Foxconn has emerged as a potential anchor locator, and several American companies have visited the site. The Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) is leading the efforts. DICT Secretary Henry Aguda frames Pax Silica as part of a broader “master plan” to build the Philippines into an AI hub, proposing the National AI Infrastructure Master Plan to expand digital infrastructure over the next decade. 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. Aguda says Pax Silica alone could roughly double the country’s existing data center capacity, with around 300 to 400 megawatts, compared to the whole Philippines having less than 200 MW. BCDA says only one or two firms are expected to build data centers within Pax Silica, with remaining locators likely from manufacturing and clean energy sectors.