SUBIC BAY FREEPORT – The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) has cited continued confidence of Korean investors in this premier Freeport as they continue to pour in investments here.

Officials of the SBMA said that at least 85,200 workers are now employed by various companies in Subic today.

"But this could easily double the current figure once the projects proposed by several Korean firms are implemented in the next two years," SBMA Administrator Armand Arreza said.

Arreza cited in particular a $1-billion resort complex project of M. Castle Inc., Korean developer of environment-friendly luxury resorts, and the scheduled $86-million project of Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction Corp. that would produce ship components.

"These will be major employment boosters," Arreza said. "Aside from the jobs that would be directly created by the projects, there will be thousands of employment opportunities to be generated downstream."

It was earlier reported that M. Castle Inc. will invest in a 615-hectare property in Subic, aside from another investment in property development in Palawan.

Some 7,000 direct and 16,000 indirect jobs will be made available when the construction of the billion-dollar luxury resort starts, said M. Castle chairman Sang Soo Shin.

Arreza said the investments would not only boost the tourism market in the country, but would also up the ante for Subic in terms of income."

The M. Castle proposal includes the development of beach and forest condominiums, a beach hotel, a casino-hotel and villas with 2,400 rooms, a 36-hole golf course, a marina club for 50 yachts, a medical center for oriental and western medicine.