A TAIWAN firm will produce face masks, personal protective equipment (PPEs) and other medical supplies in Central Luzon.
Wilma Eisma, Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) chairman and administrator, said: "With this development, the Freeport will soon become the major distributor of face masks and other medical equipments to help address a continuing demand for health safety gears, during the Covid-19 pandemic."
Eisma said Mask Secure King Inc. (MSK), a subsidiary of Taiwan-based construction and engineering giant MSK Group Work Inc., has committed US$500,000 for the manufacturing project at the Subic Bay Gateway Park II.
She said MSK has leased 1,860-square-meter building space and will hire 35 workers during its first year of operation under the trade name "Secure Masks and Protective Gears."
According to the SBMA Business and Investment Department, MSK's proposal came early this month after it filed for a Certificate of Registration and Tax Exemption (CRTE).
The agency later endorsed to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) the purchase by MSK of mask machines from Taiwan, as well as the importation of non-woven mask materials for its Subic manufacturing operations.
MSK will be the first Subic-registered company to engage in the manufacture of health and safety products and personal protective gears, including medical disposable masks, gloves, foot and eye protection devices, protective hearing devices like earplugs and muffs, hard hats, respirators, and full body suits.
Eisma said the operation of MSK will boost local production of N95 medical masks, PPE coveralls, as well as ventilators which had no known local producer prior to the Covid-19 pandemic.
At the same time, she said it will bolster the growing confidence of Taiwanese manufacturers in the Subic Bay Freeport Zone and further enlarge MSK's development footprint here.
The SBMA chief noted that the MSK Group had begun a P2-billion luxury residential project in Subic Bay in 2017, while Taiwanese real estate developer Xantheng Subic International Corp. followed it up with a P15-billion green industrial park development project last year.
"Taiwanese investors, particularly the MSK Group, have been thriving here and continuously supporting and contributing to the development of the Subic Bay Freeport Zone. This manufacturing project by MSK will be another welcome addition to our list of timely business projects here in Subic," Eisma added. (Ric Sapnu)