PSALM mulls sale of QC, Bataan properties

State-run Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) is mulling the privatization of its major real estate assets in Quezon City and in Bataan next year as part of efforts to reduce its liabilities.

PSALM is preparing to conduct a masterplan for the two real estate properties, its president and CEO Irene Joy Besido-Garcia told reporters.

The National Power Corp. (Napocor) compound in Quezon City property has a land area of four hectares, while the Bagac property in Bataan has 44 hectares of land.

“We want to prioritize these two properties because they are very valuable pieces of land,” Garcia said.

For the Quezon City property, Garcia said the masterplanning would be conducted towards the end of the year.

The master planning will include the study on how to get more benefit from the asset, possibly through a joint venture arrangement against an as is, where is sale of the land, the PSALM official said.

Once completed, the privatization process will take place in 2019.

“Of course, we cannot privatize it instantly because there are offices within so we need to do a very careful master planning of the entire compound and the needs of the people using the current offices and then we have to decide on how to optimize the use of that land,” Garcia said.

“That is why it is important to start off with very efficient master planning of the entire compound.

Once we have that, then we can do the privatization based on the outcome of the masterplanning,” she said.

As for the Bagac property, the real estate asset is located right beside Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar – a premier destination in the province – giving it the potential to be developed as a tourist destination.

“That’s 44 hectares and located right beside Las Casas. It has no beach, but it has devel- opments like houses and some pools. There is a lot of greenery there so it can be developed as a vacation area,” Garcia said.

PSALM will also conduct a master plan for the property within the year or early next year, the PSALM official said.

Portions of the Bagac property are being used by Napocor, while the other areas are being used by personnel of the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP).

“We also need a master plan for that and how best to utilize and get optimal profits from that. I can’t say, at the moment if it will be just a sale of land or the route of going into a joint venture. It’s all going to depend on the outcome of the master plan,” Garcia said.

The two properties set for privatization will follow the sale process of the Manila Thermal Plant in Paco, Manila scheduled this month.

The Manila Thermal property has eight lots and indicative area of 20,975 square meters (2.0975 hectares).

Privatization targets for this year is aimed at cutting operational costs and augmenting funds to pay off its assumed obligations that will significantly benefit the government and the electricity end-users.

As of end-June, the remaining principal debt of PSALM is P246.73 billion, while the remaining obligations under its Independent Power Producer contracts amount to P202.7 billion.