The Philippine government is backing a proposed artificial intelligence infrastructure hub, Pax Silica, that officials estimate could generate between 180,000 and 500,000 jobs, Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) Secretary Henry Aguda said Monday.
Aguda made the disclosure during an appearance on BNC’s “Business 360.” President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. referenced the Pax Silica proposal in his State of the Nation Address, and Aguda said the initiative is being developed jointly with several government agencies and private sector proponents.
“When we met with the proponents of Pax Silica, I mean, how can you not consider a proposal where it will provide close to about 500,000 additional jobs?” Aguda said. “I think the estimates right now are between 180,000 to 500,000. So we have to move quickly. I mean, it redounds to the benefit of our countrymen.”
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), the Department of Energy (DOE), the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), and the DICT are jointly reviewing the project’s environmental and infrastructure requirements before it proceeds, Aguda said.
Water consumption has been a recurring concern raised about large-scale AI data centers. Aguda said facilities under Pax Silica may rely on water-cooled systems supported by recycling and desalination technology.
“People get nervous when you say water-cooled, thinking the water will just be thrown away. No, actually, the water is recycled,” Aguda said. “And there is such a thing as desalination. So there are other AI hubs that will take seawater, clean it, and then recycle it. In fact, it might be a source of potable drinking water for the community.”
Aguda said “most of the locators are exploring opportunities to put up their own power generation.” The Department of Energy, he added, is modeling demand requirements for both surrounding municipalities and Pax Silica locators to avoid the grid instability observed in overseas data center developments.
He cited two existing large-scale data center projects as evidence that the Philippines already has experience hosting similar infrastructure: a 50-megawatt facility in Laguna built by the MVP Group, and an 80-megawatt facility in Angeles City, Pampanga, operated by Converge ICT Solutions Inc.
“This is no longer new to us. This is not something we haven’t studied yet,” Aguda said.
The DICT has not announced a timeline for the review process, a formal start date for Pax Silica, or the identities of the private sector proponents involved.
