Pax Silica: a US-led AI hub in Tarlac promising 190,000 jobs and 3 gigawatts
The government has set aside 1,620 hectares in Capas, Tarlac for a US-led technology hub. The projected numbers are enormous. So are the unanswered questions about power, water and land.
On Thursday, July 23, the Bases Conversion and Development Authority briefed Malacanang on the biggest technology project the country has put on the table in years. The Philippines has set aside 1,620 hectares in New Clark City, in Capas, Tarlac, as its site for Pax Silica, a United States led coalition of countries working together on computer chips, critical minerals, energy, logistics and the huge buildings that run artificial intelligence.
BCDA president and chief executive officer Joshua Bingcang laid out the projections. At full build, the hub could draw 40 billion to 70 billion US dollars in investment, bring the government up to 180 billion pesos a year in total revenues, of which 68 billion to 75 billion pesos a year would be taxes, and create 130,000 to 190,000 jobs, with 9 in 10 going to Filipinos.
Once fully developed, the project's total investment potential is estimated at $40 billion to $70 billion.
Why it matters
This is a decade long bet, not a quick win. Construction may only start in the first quarter of 2028, and BCDA puts full development at 10 to 15 years. More than 30 countries are now part of the coalition, double the 14 in April, and over 50 companies have said they are interested. If even part of it lands, it would put a large share of the region's AI plumbing inside Tarlac rather than in Singapore or Malaysia, and the jobs would be the kind that pay well and stay.
The power problem nobody has solved yet
Bingcang says the hub would draw about 3 gigawatts at full development. That is 3 million kilowatts, roughly the load of a small country. BCDA's answer is to build power inside the zone so households and existing businesses are not squeezed, and it points to about 300 sunny days a year in the area. But only 500 megawatts of solar is secured so far. That is one sixth of what the hub is projected to need.
The catch to watch
Akbayan Partylist has asked Congress to open an inquiry, naming the impact on electricity and water supply, the conversion of farmland, and the effect on host communities in Capas and Bamban. That is the honest frame for now. Every figure above is a projection from the agency selling the project, not a signed commitment. Watch three things instead of the headline numbers: who actually signs a lease, where the remaining 2.5 gigawatts of power comes from, and what happens to the farmers already on that land.