CLARK FREEPORT – A $2-billion technology campus, vaunted to be the biggest in the Philippines, will be built by Converge ICT Solutions in Pampanga, expanding its lead role in the information and communications industry.
Dennis Anthony Uy, Converge founder and CEO, on Thursday announced that a “Technology City” will be built in a 200-hectare property that straddles the boundaries of Mexico, Pampanga and Angeles City.
“This is quite a big investment. We will put up at least a minimum development $2-billion investment for this area. This is all technology-related,” Uy announced in his speech during Converge’s MOU signing with the Mabalacat city government and Clark Development Corporation for the company’s provision of free internet and tablets to learners of CDC-OB Bloomberry Family Care Centers located in Barangay Marcos Village and Sitio Calapi in Mabalacat City.
“This is important because we need an ecosystem for technology,” Uy said, as he noted Filipino technology experts in Silicon Valley in California, USA.
The Pampanga billionaire and founder of the fastest growing internet provider said that he is tapping Facebook, Google and Oracle for the project.
“I have worked with the founders for the past 25 years. I have a strong relationship in the field of IT industry and I will make sure to bring them to our country,” Uy added.
While no specific project descriptions and timelines were given, Uy said the technology center is designed to provide high skills training and jobs for new graduates and at the same time entice Filipino IT experts working abroad to come home.
Uy was part of the business delegation of President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. in New York where he is considered a vital part of the digital transformation initiatives pitched by the Chief Executive before world leaders at the UN General Assembly.
Business leaders are optimistic that the Technology City project can be achieved by Uy as they recalled that the growth of Converge can be traced to its humble beginnings with a video rental shop in the 1980s that was started by Uy and his siblings.
Converge is now one of the leading IT companies with the most extensive fiber networks in the Philippines with over 563,000 kilometers of fiber optic assets nationwide. It is the first to run an end-to-end pure fiber internet network in the country.
