Dubai-based Jebel Ali to invest $400 M in Subic Freeport

Dubai-based Jebel Ali Free Zone (Jafza) will invest up to $400 million in a logistics project in Subic Bay freeport Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) administrator Armand C. Arreza said yesterday.

Jafza is Dubai World’s sister company.

Arreza said the freeport attracted a number of investors during the first eight months of this year, generating $200 million or P9 billion worth of committed investments.

“We were able to attract investments mainly in manufacturing and tourism,” Arreza noted.

Aside from the logistics center, Jafza is likewise planning to build one of the two Information Technology (IT) parks in Subic.

The investment for the IT park is estimated to be around $40 million. The other firm which might build the IT park is Century Development Corp..

“The big investments will come when firms start locating within the software parks,” Arreza explained.

Arreza said the infrastructure for the IT parks is expected to be completed in two years. The parks will be built in a 19-hectare land. For the construction of the building alone, he said the investment could be as much as $1 million per hectare.

Upon completion, Arreza said the two IT parks will provide 12,000 to 15,000 new jobs in Subic.

In terms of revenue, the new IT Parks can bring in as much as $30,000 per call center seat annually.

The administrator said they are currently courting two US-based call centers to set up shop in Subic. He said the two firms are expected to set up between 6,000 to 10,000 seats.

Arreza refused to name which call center firms they are negotiating with but said these call centers are already present in the country.