Korean shipyard in Subic venture

A Korean shipbuilding company plans to set up a $1-billion shipyard in Subic Bay, on the west coast of Luzon Island in the Philippines, and hire 20,000 shipbuilders in adjacent communities in the Freeport to help solve the unemployment problem of the country.

Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) administrator, Armand Arreza, after signing preliminary papers with the shipbuilding firm, said that the planned shipyard would be the fourth largest in the world. “Certainly, it will enhance the Freeport?s potential as a seaport,” Arreza said. “This venture is expected to create as many as 20,000 jobs and will be able to accommodate large vessels that can handle 8,000 TEUs .”

The shipyard, which will occupy 269 hectares and will take five years to build. The SBMA official said final arrangement for the Korean firm to locate in Subic is being facilitated. He also said the company had chosen Subic over other possible locations in Vietnam and China.