Business World Online
Posted on July 27, 2014 09:57:29 PM
THE POWER Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) will soon start negotiations with the second highest bidder for sale of three state-owned power barges, the firm’s top official said over the weekend.
The move comes after the winning bidder, SPC Power Corp., decided to withdraw its offer for power barges 101, 102 and 103 that were auctioned off last year.
Emmanuel R. Ledesma, Jr., PSALM president and chief executive officer, said the Office of the Government Corporate Counsel (OGCC) affirmed the legality of the planned negotiation with Trans-Asia Oil and Energy Development Corp.
“Pursuant to the OGCC opinion, we are looking at negotiations with the second highest ranking bidder within the terms and conditions provided in the guidelines,” Mr. Ledesma said in a text message.
“As soon as I get board approval on the matter, we will proceed with the process.”
The official said PSALM targets the turnover of the assets to Trans-Asia this year.
Trans-Asia President Francisco L. Viray said separately that the company is still interested in the power barges and will be willing to negotiate with PSALM.
In October last year, SPC subsidiary SPC Island Power Corp. was declared the highest bidder with a P545.89-million offer for the three power barges now moored in Iloilo.
Trans-Asia, as the other party qualified to proceed with bidding, submitted a lower offer of P370.52 million.
However, SPC Island last May decided not to pursue its bid due to damage caused by super-typhoon Yolanda (international name: Haiyan) to power barge 103 in Nov. 8 to 9 last year.
Since the barges were sold as one package, SPC Island’s withdrawal covered all the three assets.
Besides the three power barges, PSALM last year also auctioned off power barge 104, but the bidding failed after both SPC Island and Trans-Asia failed to meet the reserve price set for the asset.
SPC Island submitted a bid of P45.89 million, while Trans-Asia submitted a P30-million offer.
Eight firms initially expressed interest to participate in the privatization of all the power barges. Besides SPC Island and Trans-Asia, the other companies that bought bid documents were: American Capital Energy & Infrastructure; FDC Utilities, Inc.; S.L. Development Construction Corp.; Therma Power Visayas, Inc.; Vivant Corp.; and D.M. Wenceslao & Associates, Inc.
Power barges 101 and 102, which were commissioned in 1981, are moored in barrio Obrero in Iloilo City. Power barges 103 and 104, which began operating in 1985, are located in Estancia, Iloilo and Ilang, Davao City, respectively.
Each barge has a 32-megawatt capacity.
The first two rounds of bidding for the barges conducted last year both failed after only one bidder participated in each exercise.
In the first bidding, held in May 2012, only ACTA Power Corp. -- a joint venture of Ayala Corp.’s AC Energy Holdings, Inc. and Trans-Asia -- submitted an offer.
The second auction, held in August 2012, saw Trans-Asia as the lone bidder.
PSALM is the agency mandated by Republic Act No. 9136, or the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001, to handle the sale of the remaining state power assets and financial obligations of the National Power Corp. -- Claire-Ann Marie C. Feliciano source
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