BSP Moves Forward with New Production Facility

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has received approval for a budget of at least P25 billion ($450 million) for the construction of its new Currency Production Facility (CPF) in a 31.2 hectare complex in New Clark City in Capas, Tarlac.

The project is currently in its design phase, with a contract for architectural and engineering design services signed with one of the Philippines’ top firms of architects, Aidea, in February. They will be coming up with a detailed design by the end of the year, after which bids will open for a general contractor to build the facility. This could start as early as the first half of 2023, and is likely to take 2-3 years to complete.

Aidea’s design services cover the development of 21 hectares of the publicly accessible and semi-restricted areas, which include an office building, data and command centre, museum, academic buildings and sports complex.

The CPF itself will be in a restricted zone of c. 10 hectares and will produce banknotes, coins as well as other secure documents that are currently produced in the Security Plant Complex (SPC) in Quezon City, which has been in operation since 1975.

It will also contain a vault for servicing cash demand outside of the capital region (which will be met by corresponding storage and cash operations in the BSP’s head office in Manila). The idea behind two cash centres is contingency planning should one or the other be put out of action.

‘The new BSP Complex, which will rise in New Clark City, will embody our vision and aspirations for the country. It will be a global benchmark for a smart, green, and modern facility, promoting environmental sustainability and efficiency,’ said BSP Governor, Benjamin Diokno, at the signing ceremony of the contract with Aidea.