SBMA eyes Subic BPO city

MANILA, Philippines - The Subic Bay Metropolitan Development Authority (SBMA) plans to develop a business process outsourcing (BPO) center similar to the Ayala Techno Hub inside the freeport zone.

In a statement, SBMA chairman Roberto Garcia said the project could create as many as 20,000 jobs in five years.

“The SBMA is already developing what we call the Subic BPO City, which will be similar to the Ayala Techno Hub. We believe we can already provide BPO services here because we now have a workforce that’s well-trained in ICT,” he said.

The Ayala Land Techno Hub is a 20-hectare information technology center located in Quezon City. It is listed as an IT park by the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA), which gives incentives to investors in information and communication technology (ICT).

Garcia said all technical infrastructure for the Subic BPO City are already prepared. He said the SBMA would also provide housing for professionals who would work in the center.

He noted that the BPO sector is growing by about 25 percent a year, remitting $13 million to the Philippine economy and is fast catching up with the $20 million annual remittance of overseas Filipino workers. The country now has more than 700,000 seats for call center agent services and business process outsourcing.

“We have already surpassed India in the field of BPO, and because of this, the future looks very bright for the Philippines,” he said.

Garcia said Subic has a skilled workforce that is English-proficient and computer literate.

“This is readily available in the Subic Bay area – a well-trained workforce well-versed in ICT. This will be a big boost to our dream to build a BPO City here,” he said. – With Ric Sapnu