SUBIC BAY FREEPORT — Korean shipbuilding giant "HD Hyundai," formerly known as "Hyundai Heavy Industries" is looking abroad. The company is said to be considering the possibility of using part of the vast Agila Subic Bay shipyard complex once operated by its compatriot Hanjin Heavy Industries.
American investment fund Cerberus acquired the yard in April 2022, three years after the facility closed. Shortly after, the Philippine Navy agreed to lease one third of the facility for its own basing needs, calling it Naval Operating Base - Subic. This section is now active with about 800 personnel on site.
The Korean company is said to be mulling a commercial operation at the site. According to the Office of the Philippines President, the Korean shipbuilder wants to use two drydocks at Subic Bay and could move in as early as the end of this year.
This project is expecting a high-volume of Filipino workers.
It is not the first time that HD Hyundai has been linked to Subic Bay. Last year, former Philippines Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana told the media that the company would operate a maintenance depot for Korean-built Philippine Navy vessels at the facility.
HD Hyundai built the Philippine Navy's first two missile-capable frigates and is currently holding two contracts for two multi-purpose corvettes and six offshore patrol vessels. It holds a lifetime service support contract with the Philippine Navy for the guided-missile frigates previously delivered to the Navy.