CLARK FREEPORT, Pampanga—The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority said it is now negotiating with the local government units in the two provinces to solve the lack of land for its industrial expansion program.
Wilma T. Eisma, SBMA chairperson and administrator, said she is now negotiating with the governments of San Antonio, Castillejos, Subic, and San Marcelino, all in Zambales; and Hermosa, Dinalupihan, and Morong, all in Bataan, for an additional 5,000 hectares of land for its expansion.
During a media forum here, Eisma said the negotiations with the local governments, through council resolutions, are now going smoothly, as the SBMA is very interested to provide additional hectares for the Freeport’s expansion.
A town adjacent to the Freeport has already provided nine hectares of land, but it is good for tourism purposes and not for industrial use, Eisma said.
“What I need is an additional 5,000 hectares of land for the industrial development,” she added. “Due to a lack of space, we are now holding the expansion program of Freeport until such time we solve our problem, in cooperation with the local government units.”
The Freeport recently rejected additional locators and investors, mostly Taiwanese and Japanese, she added.
Created under Republic Act 7227 on March 13, 1992, the SBMA occupies 65,000 hectares, land that is mostly mountainous and beach areas. It is currently occupied by 1,500 locators and investors with total investments of $3 billion, employing 128,000 people from Bataan, Zambales, and Pampanga.
According to Eisma, the Freeport earned P800 million in net income last year.
During the forum, the administrator also said she closed five firms—four of them schools—who are not paying their dues, while she warned five others they would be shut down if they fail to pay their financial obligations to SBMA.
The receivables from the delinquent firms, totaling P68 million “are very liquid,” she added.
Although cruise ships have started arriving in Subic, Eisma said the problem is the SBMA area “is too small for them,” and lamented the lack of transportation and tourist destinations in the Freeport.
“With regards to the lack of tourist destinations inside the former naval base, we now included several spots in Central Luzon, including Mt. Samat, mangoes picking in Zambales, and others for them to enjoy,” she said.
The SBMA’s limited buses “cannot haul 2,000 to 3,000 tourists who arrive at the same time” from the cruise ships.
Eisma urged businessmen to invest in transportation in Subic, especially now that four cruise companies, including the renowned Caribbean Cruises, will arrive in July this year.
Tourist arrivals in the Freeport were reduced because SBMA has banned cockfighting inside the Freeport, which was allowed in the past, Eisma said.
She also denied that illegal drugs are being dumped in the area.