SUBIC BAY, Zambales – An official of Agila Subic Compass expressed optimism about the growth of the business three years after it commenced operations, saying they have reached full capacity.

To date, the 310-hectare shipyard has four lessors namely world-leading shipbuilder HD Hyundai Heavy Industries Philippines, Subcom, manufacturer and installer of subsea fiber optic cable with global operations; V2X, a logistics firm listed with the New York Stock Exchange, and the Philippine Navy.

In a briefing here Thursday, Agila Subic general manager Mark Millan declined to give any figures on their revenues but said “it’s growing”.

“We cannot provide a general figure as of now, but it's something that will be supportive to the conditions that we have with SBMA (Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority) as far as our lease agreement with them is concerned, and as far as our commitment to the taxes we need to pay to the government,” he said.

The leasing firm is a subsidiary of the New York-based alternative investment firm Cerberus Capital Management, which is investing additional P15 billion for domestic operations as announced by the government following the official visit of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. in the US last month.

Milan declined to talk about the additional investment, saying it was not Agila Subic Compass that made the announcement.

“Agila Subic per se, on its own, will have expansion opportunities that people would like to look into, but it's only within the vicinity of our facility,” he said.

Milan said they expect investments in the ongoing upgrades in the facility to hit $1 billion (around P57.12 billion).

The multi-use facility lessor targeted to generate around 10,000 jobs, through its locators, by 2027, and Milan said they already have around 3,000 to date.

“We are pleased to see that we are on track in achieving that vision after only three years of operations through partnerships with our locators and with support from the Philippine government,” he added. 

PNA PHOTO