PSALM sets April deadline for HQ redevelopment submissions

THE Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) said it set a new deadline fora design competition for the redevelopment of its Quezon City compound.
“The design contest shall select the most energy-efficient conceptual design that could be used as basis for the master planning and redevelopment of the 5.1-hectare Diliman property,” the company said in a statement on Friday.
PSALM, the agency tasked to privatize the government’s energy assets, has set 4:00 p.m. on April 5, 2019 as the new deadline for the submission of expressions of interest and first-stage requirements of the architectural conceptual design contest.
The property currently houses the National Power Corp., National Transmission Corp. and National Grid Corp. of the Philippines.
“The entire property is centrally located in a long stretch of commercial establishments adjacent to Centris Walk and Vertis North in Quezon City,” PSALM said.
PSALM did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the property redevelopment’s timeline or whether its completion is expected to be within the term of the current administration.
Earlier this month, PSALM launched the contest and set the deadline at March 22, 2019. It opened the contest to local and international architectural firms.
The company said the postponement of the original schedule would allow more time to update the contest’s mechanics and to consider the preparation of the eligibility requirements from interested participants.
In a previous interview, PSALM President and Chief Executive Officer Irene Joy B. Garcia said the redevelopment of the property was meant to maximize the gains to be derived from the assets.
She said the property could be developed with one building housing all the offices, possibly on a joint venture with a private entity on a profit-sharing arrangement.
PSALM was created under Republic Act No. 9136, the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) of 2001, the law that restructured the Philippine power sector. It took over the ownership of all existing government-owned power generation assets. Its principal purpose is to manage the orderly sale and privatization of the assets. — Victor V. Saulon