The Philippines is narrowing down the proposed projects under the Luzon Economic Corridor as the country's partners shift their interest to projects in Subic, Special Assistant to the President for Investment and Economic Affairs Frederick Go said.

"Lumalawak yung coverage ng Luzon Economic Corridor (The Corridor's coverage is expanding) so much so that the primary interest now is, for example, in Subic which was not in the first steering committee meeting [in April]," Go told reporters in Malacañan on Friday, Aug. 30.

"Ngayon sinabihan na tayo ng mga partners natin na ang interest namin (Our partners are now telling us that their interest now) is more on these three projects in Subic or these four projects in Subic. Kumukonti ngayon yung list (The list is shrinking)," he added.

From the 28 projects eyed during the first steering committee meeting, Go said they might have less than 10, which is better as they could implement them quicker.

"I think we will end up with less than 10 primary projects. We're shortlisting or we're narrowing or we're focusing now," he said.

"Kasi better 'yan (That's better). When you focus, then you know it will move forward faster," he added.

Go said projects related to infrastructure development and energy are included.

"Obviously, we are connecting ports so you can take a hint there that ports are the other major opportunity they are looking at," he said.

"Of course, you cannot have development in the Corridor without energy. So I don't want to say I'm sure but energy is definitely high on the list, particularly renewable energy," he added.

Moreover, Go said American companies are interested in data centers. Food production is also another critical sector.

"So if you ask me to narrow down the list, it would be rail, ports, energy, digitalization, data centers, [and] food production," he said.

The Philippines, Japan, and the US announced the launch of the Luzon Economic Corridor during their historic trilateral meeting in Washington, D.C., in April this year.

The first Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment corridor in the Indo-Pacific, the Luzon Economic Corridor aims to accelerate coordinated investments in high-impact infrastructure projects in Subic Bay.

These include projects in rail, port modernization, clean energy and semiconductor supply chains and deployments, agribusiness, and civilian port upgrades at Subic Bay.

Japan has long been supporting connectivity in this area, including rails and roads, through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

In May, President Marcos said the government would do even better once the Luzon Economic Corridor was completed.