STATE-LED POWER SECTOR Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) will rebid a parcel of land in Manila where a thermal power plant used to stand after the agency failed to attract bidders.
“PSALM will look into the reasons as to why the four bidders, who initially purchased bid documents, decided eventually not to participate in the bidding,” the agency said in a statement on Monday, quoting Irene Joy B. Garcia, its president and chief executive.
She declared the public auction a failure due to the non-receipt of any bids on the deadline set at noon of Aug. 15, 2018. The asset’s rebidding will be set as soon as the road map for the second round of bidding is finalized, PSALM said.
The property, which has an approximate area of 20,975 square meters, is valued at around P886 million. It had previously hosted a power plant, which provided electricity to consumers in the Luzon grid before it was decomissioned in 2009.
Proceeds of its privatization was used to liquidate maturing debts of the power sector.
PSALM took over ownership of government-owned power generation assets when the sector was restructured with the passage of Republic Act No. 9136, the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001. Its principal purpose is to manage the orderly sale and privatization of the assets.
The privatization of the Manila thermal power plant paved the way for the clean up of the land ahead of its sale. The agency had expected the proceeds to help augment its funding sources for the management of its assumed liabilities.
PSALM said the property has a potential commercial value because of its proximity to Manila’s business establishments. The land is on Isla de Provisor along the Pasig River in Paco, Manila.
In its invitation to bid published on Aug. 8-10, 2018, the PSALM board set the a minimum bid price for the property at P885,746,650. It said the invitation did not refer to a new project, but merely intends to inform interested bidders of the land’s minimum bid price.
PSALM first published its invitation on Dec. 5-7, 2017 without disclosing a minimum bid price. Any bid below the minimum will be rejected during bid opening. Interested parties were informed that the property will be sold on an “as is, where is” basis.
The bidding was open to individuals and sole proprietorships, partnerships or corporation, joint ventures or consortiums, government corporate entities and local government units authorized by law to acquire, own, hold or develop real properties in the Philippines.
If the bidder or any of its components is a corporation, it must be duly registered and organized under the laws of the Philippines and at least 60% Filipino-owned. — Victor V. Saulon
