By the Blocktec Editorial Team
The Aurora Pacific Economic Zone and Freeport Authority (APECO) is lining up a bid for US funding to study big infrastructure projects in its Casiguran ecozone in Aurora. On October 30, 2026, in Washington, D.C., APECO signed a memorandum of agreement with Virginia-based Planate Management Group, which will do the groundwork for free. The news was published on November 10, 2026.
What APECO And Planate Signed
APECO President and CEO Gil G. Taway IV and Planate President Chris Decker signed the agreement for their sides. Philippine Deputy Chief of Mission Felipe F. Cariño III attended the signing. The Philippine Trade and Investment Center in Washington, under Commercial Counsellor Benedict Uy, supported it.
Under the deal, Planate will assess investment needs for ports, airports, defense infrastructure and related facilities across the 12,923-hectare Casiguran ecozone. For a sense of scale, that is roughly 129 square kilometers, a large area by any measure. Planate is doing this work at no cost to APECO.
The signing took place during APECO's October 24-30 investment mission to the United States. A Canada leg followed on November 2-6.
What The Study Will Produce
The output is a white paper. It will contain research, data analysis, recommendations and an implementation roadmap. In plain terms, it is a planning document that tells investors and funders what the zone needs, in what order, and why.
APECO plans to submit the white paper to the US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) to ask for feasibility study funding. A feasibility study is the next, more detailed step that tests whether a project makes sense technically and financially before anyone commits to building it.
Several things were not disclosed: how much funding APECO will request, whether USTDA will approve it, and when the white paper will be finished.
What Officials Said
Taway said the study supports a data-based plan for infrastructure investment. He also said it positions the zone as a Pacific gateway for US businesses in the Indo-Pacific, with manufacturing, emerging technology and renewable energy as target sectors.
Decker said the paper would give investors a clear view of the zone's commercial potential, along with a long-term facilities plan.
The Port, The Investors And The Background
The lead project is the proposed Casiguran International New Port. APECO is looking for an investor and operator for it. The port would start with industrial cargo and could later add transshipment, which means moving cargo between ships on its way to other destinations.
APECO is also courting defense, clean energy and data center investors under the CREATE MORE incentives.
Planate was founded in 2007 in Alexandria, Virginia. It mainly serves US government and defense clients in engineering and construction management.
The agreement follows a separate memorandum of understanding signed earlier in the same mission for a $150 million LNG power project in the zone. At the exchange rate cited in the news, that is about P9.45 billion.
What Happens Next
Planate will now draft the white paper. Once it is done, APECO will use it for the USTDA application. Nothing here is a construction contract, and no build dates or budgets have been announced.
What This Means For Builders
This is early planning, so nobody should be budgeting for Casiguran jobs yet. Still, a port, airports and defense facilities would eventually need warehouses, offices and staff housing in a location far from the usual Luzon supply routes. Haul distance and site labor will matter a lot there.
That is where lighter materials help. AAC blocks and panels are light to haul, and in Blocktec's experience-based figures a trained mason with a helper lays about 10-12 m2 per 8-hour shift, up to 20 m2 on straight runs. Blocks go up with thin-bed adhesive and skimcoat, so it is walang palitada, which cuts sand, cement and water handling on a remote site. In Blocktec's own cost comparison, the wall system showed up to about 21% savings versus hollow blocks, depending on the project.
If you are an estimator, developer or contractor eyeing Aurora, watch for the white paper and the USTDA decision. Those will tell you whether and when real packages reach the market. Blocktec supplies from hubs in Marikina, Subic and Cabuyao, so you can plan wall specs and quantities early.
Sources
- Philippine Daily Inquirer: Aurora ecozone seeks US funding for projects
- Context.ph: APECO taps US firm to map Casiguran investment prospects (Nov 10, 2026)
- Daily Tribune: Planate to assist APECO in project assessment in Aurora (Nov 10, 2026)
- APECO (Bagong APECO): APECO to woo US, Canadian investors for defense, energy, data center projects (Oct 26, 2026)
Planning warehouses, offices or housing for a remote site like Casiguran? Send your wall area or blueprints to sales@blocktec.ph or blocktec.ph for a free AAC wall-system estimate.