Hanjin invests another $11.9Mfor research and development

By:Anthony Bayarong - Manila Times

SUBIC BAY Freeport: The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) announced that shipbuilder Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction Co. is investing another $11.9 million for a research and development firm.

Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority Administrator Armand Arreza said the venture of Hanjin has been named HHIC-Tech Inc., which will employ 196 technical workers to fill in the need of Hanjin’s naval architectural projects in information technology.

“This will be another plus for Subic’s maritime industry because this new company will be introducing new technology and exposing local workers to the latest industry trends,” he said.

“What Subic got earlier from the shipyard project was the hardware part of the business. Now we’re getting the software component, which is just as essential to any maritime operation,” Arreza added.

HHIC-Tech would mainly undertake research and development (R&D) studies and provide technical support, consultancy services, as well as information technology-enabled services like computer-aided design, electronic data retrieval, electronic directory and library, and structural ship drafting.

Arreza also said the SBMA has extended the HHIC-Philippines lease of the Lower Mau loading area, which the company uses to load heavy equipment and materials ferried across the bay to the Hanjin shipyard at the Redondo Peninsula.

“We’re extending to Hanjin all the support we can give in recognition of its growing investments in Subic, and its equally huge role in generating employment for local residents,” Arreza said.
The South Korean company, Arreza noted, has put the Philippines on the shipbuilding map when it began the $1-billion shipyard project here two years ago.

Last year, the firm announced additional investments worth $684 million to cover costs for several ship orders that it has received from shipping companies around the world.

According to Hanjin officials, the Subic shipyard now has pending orders for 40 units of cargo vessels, with the first two orders placed for crude oil tankers that will be deployed to Europe-Middle East routes.