The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) is looking forward to the possible reopening within the year of the South Korean-owned Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction-Philippines Inc. (HHIC-PH) shipyard facility in Subic.
This is after negotiations for the operation of the facility have reached 99.99 percent completion.
SBMA Administrator Wilma Eisma said discussions have been completed and only the last details are being finalized.
Eisma declined to identify those involved in the negotiations but said the “white knight” that would take over the operations of the shipyard comes from North America.
Among the potential bidders included North American, German, Turkish, and Asian companies but previous reports said US private equity firm and Australian shipbuilder Austal have advanced in their bid for the facility.
“We expect in the next few days, hopefully the year will not end, we can announce the reopening of Hanjin. It means jobs will be back, there will be life again at the other side of the Freeport Zone),” she said.
The Hanjin shipyard was one of the major shipyards in the world until HHIC-PH filed for bankruptcy in 2019 after failing to repay its loans that amounted to $1.3 billion.
At its peak, it employed over 30,000 people.
