• Mining firm bags Sucat power plant

A mining firm emerged the highest bidder for the purchase of the decommissioned 850-megawatt (MW) Sucat thermal power plant (STPP) in Muntinlupa City, state-run Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) said yesterday.

PSALM said Riverbend Consolidated Mining Corp. bested the offers of two other firms.

“Riverbend was declared the bidder with the highest offer after it bested two other companies with its P305.2 million proposal,” PSALM officer-in-charge Lourdes Alzona said.

The two other companies which joined the bidding were VPD Trading and G.G. Uy Bonapor Metal Contractor Co. with financial offers of P201.6 million and P168 million, respectively.

Based on the asset sale provisions, the winning bidder has the obligation to dismantle, clean-up and remediate the site which means the buyer shall return the present site to ground zero (road level) free and clear of wastes, toxic substances, debris and structures.

PSALM’s Privatization, Bids and Awards Committee will report the results of the sale to the PSALM board then subsequently issue a notice of award upon completion of the post qualification process.

“The successful sale of this asset advances the interest of the government as the proceeds will be part of the additional funding source for the liquidation of the National Power Corp.’s debts assumed by PSALM,” Alzona said earlier.

The Sucat plant was operational for 33 years before Units 1 and 4 were decommissioned in January 2000, and Units 2 and 3 were shut down in January 2002.

It has been put up for sale twice—one in 2014 and in 2016—but both were declared failed biddings.

The Sucat plant consists of Unit 1, which has a rated capacity of 150 MW; Units 2 and 3, each with 200 MW; and Unit 4, which is rated at 300 MW.

It was previously owned by Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) but was acquired by the Na- tional Power Corp. (Napocor) in November 1978.