Tough luck as gov’t fails to dispose of Malaya power plant anew

The government again hit a snag in its efforts to sell equipment, structures and land that belong to the 650-megawatt Malaya thermal power plant in Pililla, Rizal, as the bidding was declared a failure.

The Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) yesterday said only AC Energy Inc., a unit of the Ayala group, turned in an offer on Sept. 18, the deadline for submission of bids.

When this latest bidding process started in 2018, there were 11 groups that expressed interest in taking part, and four were eventually declared qualified to do so.

The three other qualified bidders were FGEN Reliable Energy Holdings Inc., DM Wenceslao & Associates Inc., and DMCI Power Corp.

PSALM president and chief executive Irene Besido Garcia said in a statement the state firm would start a new round of bidding “as soon as possible, once the schedule is cleared with the board (of directors).”

This failure of the bidding “will not deter us from trying again, and again, until we are able to successfully dispose of this asset,” Garcia said.

DM Wenceslao & Associates withdrew from the bidding “due to current market conditions and uncertainty of supply of fuel,” she said.

PSALM had engaged PricewaterhouseCoopers Philippines as third-party consultant to conduct a valuation of the Malaya plant, structures and underlying land, in a renewed push to complete an initiative that saw two failed biddings as well as four attempts at a negotiated sale.

Earlier, PSALM awarded the 2019 service contract for the operation and maintenance of the Malaya plant to Korean firm Soosan ENS Co. Ltd. (Soosan ENS). The contract is good for one year or until the plant’s privatization.

Soosan ENS was declared the lowest compliant bidder with its offer of P205.73 million. PSALM’s approved budget for the transaction was P213 million.