Photo courtesy of SBMA

By Percy Roxas

The first-ever hybrid workspace in Zambales, Regus Subic Center, located on the second floor of The Gardens, Pacific Ace Building, opened here on Thursday (Sept. 7) last week, flaunting its environmentally friendly practices.

In a statement, the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) said the shared workspace is expected to entice more companies to locate at the freeport while testing the waters before going full-scale.

SBMA Chairman and Administrator Jonathan D. Tan, International Workplace Group (IWG) country manager Lars B. Wittig, and Pacific Ace Subic Bay Corporation (PASBC) president Virginia S. Dio led the ribbon-cutting ceremony.

“This shared workspace provides investors with a platform for exploratory activities before deciding whether they will be expanding to a bigger facility or undertaking something else,” Tan said while also lauding the efforts of IWG and Pacific Ace in establishing this virtual platform.

“This will help startup companies grow as the Regus Subic Center shared workspace becomes an incubator that provides them an area to grow and develop before investing heavily in Subic Bay Freeport,” Tan said.

The shared workplace consists of co-working desks, meeting rooms, and private offices. and incorporates the “green advocacy” of PASBC president Dio. The center is in the so-called Green Building at the Central Business District of the Subic Freeport, which was designed to lessen the negative impact on the environment.

“We provide a superior indoor environment that can enhance air and water quality to improve health, productivity, and the energy of the people in the premises,” said Dio. “Such conditions are certainly conducive not only to its users but, more importantly, to the environment.”

“Subic Freeport is a strategic location that we have targeted for expansion since the opening of Regus (shared workplace) in Clark Freeport in 2015. Clark is the gateway, driving from Metro Manila in the northern direction, and Subic is the logical extension that offers excellent logistics, freeport, and development zones in the same manner as Clark,” said Wittig of IWG. IWG is the global leader in hybrid work solutions and workspace brands.

“With the inclusion of Subic Bay Freeport in the Regus brand of IWG, we can expect more investments and developments in this premier Freeport since the location will be a most valued addition to our network,” he pointed out. FREEPORT INSIDER