Hanjin mulls new shipyard in Phivedec

After investing over $1.6 billion in Subic Bay Freeport for a shipbuilding facility, Korea?s shipbuilder Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction (HHIC) is investing another $1 billion in the state-owned Phivedec Industrial Estate in Misamis Oriental for the construction of a further shipbuilding facility that is one a half times bigger than its Subic facility.

This was announced by President Gloria Arroyo during a roundtable with the staff of the Business Bulletin over the weekend. “Hanjin chose us over Vietnam,” the elated President said noting that “Hanjin would have wanted to expand in Subic but there is no more space.” This makes a total of $ 2.684 billion worth of investments committed by Hanjin in the country.

Hanjin?s investment in Phivedec is an entirely new shipbuilding facility and the shipbuilder is already talking with Phivedec officials because it requires 600 hectares of land which Subic can no longer provide given its limited available space. The expansion is made in response to the increasing number of vessels being ordered from the company, which currently stands at 33 container vessels. HHIC recently began the fabrication of its first container vessel at its Subic Freeport shipyard.