The Aurora Pacific Economic Zone could bring development to central Luzon’s eastern seaboard and be an alternative to existing shipping routes.
Written by Henrik Batallones
Recent years has seen the Philippines strengthen its position in maritime trade, with new port developments across the country designed to increase capacity, particularly from international shippers, as well as spur investment and growth in different regions. Apart from improving connections between the ports of Manila, Subic and Batangas, we are also seeing plans for port upgrades in Iloilo, northern Mindanao and even in the perennial bottleneck of Matnog.
But could the country’s next major international shipping hub be in a province otherwise known as a somewhat hidden beach getaway?
If the folks at the Aurora Pacific Economic Zone (APECO) have their way, their region would not just be a home to a new international port and industrial hub, but would also provide the Philippines with an alternative to the ports of Manila, which is vulnerable to geopolitical shocks considering China’s ongoing claim over all of South China Sea.
Created by law in 2007, the APECO is comprised of almost 13,000 hectares of land in the municipalities of Dinalungan, Casiguran and Dilasag. Notably, it is a natural harbor, shielded from the elements by the San Ildefonso peninsula and the Sierra Madre, and is directly connected to the Pacific Ocean. It also serves as a gateway to Benham Rise, designated by the Philippine government as a “protected food supply exclusive zone” after a UNCLOS ruling in favor of the country.
Currently it is home to several hospitality and IT locators, but it is setting its sights further: positioning itself as take-off point for eastern Luzon’s burgeoning fishing and energy industries, as well as the country’s first defense hub. And to serve those plans, it has in place to develop a new airport and seaport.
New transport hubs
Core to APECO’s plans is the Casiguran International New Port, set to be located at Bangas Point. It is set to include two multipurpose berths with a capacity of 20,000 DWT each; as well as a passenger wharf and a fishery wharf. It is projected to have a capacity of over 1 million tons of cargo.
APECO envisions the new port as a key transshipment point, and an alternative to the otherwise congested ports in Luzon’s western seaboard, particularly Manila. More importantly, it positions the port as a key node in the development of an alternative shipping corridor, connecting eastern Asian countries such as Japan and South Korea to ports in the Philippines, Indonesia and onwards to Australia, while being away from potential chokepoints such as the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea. Its location also provides an alternative port for trans-Pacific shipments, as well as cargo ships passing through the Panama Canal.
The port underwent an initial feasiblity study in 2011, and this is currently being updated to reflect newer realities.
Complementing the port are plans for a new international airport. APECO is currently served by a small airport in Casiguran, although is currently only serves chartered flights, particularly for tourists heading to Baler. Among approved plans are the extension of the current runway and an upgraded passenger terminal, as well as upgrading for night operations and accommodating jet engine flights.
Logistical challenges
A key challenge for APECO’s ambitions is the limited connectivity between it and the major road networks serving Luzon. While it is currently accessible by road—a trip that takes roughly six hours from Manila—the region is not yet connected to the expanding Luzon Spine Expressway Network, which has significantly improved connectivity between the island’s major cities and tourist destinations.
Currently, the closest highway to APECO is the Central Luzon Link Expressway (CLLEX), which currently terminates in Cabanatuan, Nueva Ecija. Proposals to build the North Luzon East Expressway would connect the city to northern Quezon City, but it is also imaginable that the highway could extend further north, perhaps linking to the cities of Santiago and Tuguegarao, the same way the Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway has improved travel times to the Ilocos region.
APECO could also benefit from proposals alongside the Luzon Economic Corridor, an initiative alongside the United States and Japan to boost infrastructure, logistics and industrial development in northern and central Luzon. Announced plans include a proposed railway connecting the ports of Subic, Manila and Batangas, as well as Clark International Airport; and an industrial hub in New Clark City as part of the US-led Pax Silica Initiative to provide a counterweight to Chinese dominance in semiconductor supply chains.
APECO’s strategy positioning itself as a transshipment hub at the heart of a new shipping corridor could make it a beneficiary of these initiatives. The proposed rail links could conceivably be extended further north, serving locators in central Luzon—already being served by the TPLEX and the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway—and, hopefully, to eastern Luzon as well. The development of new transport links to the region could also improve access for agricultural products from the Cagayan Valley and Nueva Viscaya, and could complement the development of the Clark National Food Hub.
One key challenge is the Luzon eastern seaboard being a common landing area for typhoons. While APECO highlights its being protected from the elements, development of infrastructure connecting it to the rest of Luzon could be curtailed by the bad weather the region often sees in the second half of the year. However, the development of these connections is also important in ensuring not just the resilience of the region—improving the movement of goods and allowing for faster disaster response—but also for the rest of Luzon, considering its role as a key source of food products.
One hopes that these plans are fully fostered and supported in the coming years, as stakeholders across the supply chain focus on improving resilience and distributing growth to all regions of the Philippines. The government should prioritize the development of logistics hubs and infrastructure to ensure we can easily recover from geopolitical shocks and continue the growth trajectory of the national economy.