Meralco, 2 others seen vying for PSALM’s prime lots in Paco

State firm Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. is bullish it would finally be able to dispose of its Paco-Manila property with Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) and two other parties showing interest.

A prenegotiation conference was conducted online last Aug. 10, attended by representatives from Meralco, Simon Agribusiness and trading firm Philman Corporate Distribution Corp.

“We are very optimistic that we can privatize this Paco-Manila property very soon,” Psalm president and chief executive Irene Besido-Garcia said in a statement.

Deadline: Aug. 31

“We will continue to try to sell this asset because we need to use the proceeds for the payment of Psalm’s financial obligations,” Garcia said.

Potential buyers must submit their offers by 1 p.m. on Aug. 31.

Consisting of eight noncontiguous lots that have a total area of more than 2 hectares (20,975 square meters), the Paco-Manila property is located in Isla de Provisor in Manila.

Floor price at P527.1M

This is the former site of the decommissioned Manila Thermal Power Plant, which was sold in 2008.

This is Psalm’s third attempt at a negotiated sale. The floor price is set at P527.1 million, which is higher than the previous round’s P458.3 million.

In an advisory to potential buyers, Psalm said the lots were situated in a prime area, being close to a major shopping mall, several government institutions, colleges and universities and business establishments.

These include, among others, a Meralco substation, the Torre de Manila condominium building and respective malls of the SM and Robinsons groups as well as Adamson University, Technological University of the Philippines and Philippine Women’s University.

Psalm said the area surrounding the lots was classified as medium intensity mixed zone and university cluster zone.

Of the eight lots, the biggest has an area of 10,025.4 sqm while the smallest is 3.8 sqm that is “sharing a land title with a 297.4-sqm lot.”

Privatization proceeds are used to settle Psalm’s outstanding obligations, which as of end-2020 was at P381.9 billion.

Psalm obligations, assumed from National Power Corp. pursuant to the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001, peaked at P1.2 trillion in 2003.