Malacañang on Tuesday clarified that there are currently no plans to construct artificial intelligence (AI) data centers within the proposed Clark Advanced Manufacturing Park, a high-tech industrial project being developed under the United States-led Pax Silica initiative.
Palace Press Officer Claire Castro, citing statements from the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), emphasized that the flagship development in New Clark City, Tarlac, will strictly focus on manufacturing and hardware supply rather than housing data centers.
“Allow us to reiterate on the Clark Advanced Manufacturing Park, there will be no data centers,” Castro said during a Palace press briefing.
Castro also confirmed that there are no active proposals at this stage to establish Pax Silica-linked data centers in alternative locations outside of New Clark City.
Addressing environmental and utility concerns, Castro assured the public that any project greenlit under the initiative, whether involving data processing or high-tech manufacturing, will be subject to rigorous government oversight.
“We assure everyone that any investment project, whether data center or not, or whether under the Pax Silica or not, will have to undergo strict compliance with government regulations, for example and most critically on environmental impact,” she said.
The proposed Clark Advanced Manufacturing Park is envisioned as a 1,620-hectare, high-tech industrial ecosystem situated within New Clark City. Designed as an “AI-native” investment acceleration hub, the site aims to focus on artificial intelligence technology, semiconductor fabrication support, electronics and critical minerals processing.
Elaborating on the project’s specific scope during a recent House appropriations committee hearing, DTI Undersecretary Ceferino Rodolfo explained that while the facility is aligned with global AI growth, it will not host actual data processing centers.
Instead, the facility is designed to manufacture the foundational hardware and industrial components required for AI infrastructure globally.
Rodolfo added that because data centers require vast amounts of electricity and water, “AI data centers themselves will not be in New Clark City.” The government is instead evaluating alternative locations across the country that offer more sustainable and viable power and water resources to accommodate such energy-intensive facilities if proposals emerge in the future.