Psalm leases Port Area property to Coast Guard

STATE- FIRM Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (Psalm) has leased a portion of its Port Area property to the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) to maximize the use of its remaining assets.

The property will be rented out for two years on an as-iswherebasis. One of the assets transferred by the National Power Corp. (Napocor) to Psalm, the Port Area property has been incurring maintenance costs.

“The lease contract is an exer it provides additional income to cover the expenses of maintaining the property,” Psalm said in a statement on Friday.

to them as it provides additional - pansion, noting the property’s potential given its strategic location to the maritime sector.

Under Republic Act 9136, or the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001, Psalm is mandated to privatize the existing assets of the National Power Corp. with the objective of liquidating all of NPC’s financial obligations.

As of June, Psalm’s principal debt stood at P246.73 billion, while remaining obligations under its independent power producer (IPP) contracts stood at P202.70 billion.

Among the assets it is set to privatize is the 650- megawatt ( MW) Malaya Thermal Power Plant in Pililia, Rizal. Another is the 20,975- hectare Manila Thermal Power Plant property, located on Isla de Provisor on the Pasig River. After the first bidding process failed, Psalm said it would auction the asset again once the roadmap for the second round of bidding was finalized.

master plan for Napocor’s real estate properties in Quezon City and Bataan before selling these by next year. It is looking at whether to sell the entire piece of land or enter into a joint venture agreement.

The 200-MW Mindanao Coalfired Thermal Power Plant in Misamis Oriental Province will also be privatized.

Psalm is also working on disposing its non- power assets, including 231 lots. These include 20,975 square meters of the decommissioned Manila Thermal Power Plant in Paco and 257,995 square meters of the Bauang Diesel Power Plant in La Union.

Psalm owns 6,160 lots with an aggregate area of about 10,000 hectares. These include its two- unit Puerto Azul Ocean Villas Condominium in Cavite, which it offered to sell to members of the Puerto Azul Golf and Country Club last December.