State-run Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) expects to complete the feasibility study on the privatization of its Quezon City property by the middle of the year.
PSALM has given the go signal to Isla Lipana & Co., a member firm of PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Philippines, to start the feasibility study on the said property, its president and CEO Irene Joy Besido-Garcia said in a text message.
“PSALM has issued today the notice to proceed and contract for the consultancy services to PwC so they can commence the study,” she said.
With the commencement of the feasibility study, PSALM hopes to have a basis on the privatization options for the prime property within the first half of the year.
“That means by June, we would have the output already,” Besido-Garcia said.
The feasibility study has a contract cost of P5.98 million and will take 120 days to complete.
It would confirm the numbers detailed in the winning architectural conceptual design for the development of the PSALM property located in Diliman, Quezon City.
The winning entry of WTA Design Studio, titled “The East Grid,” aims to develop PSALM’s Diliman property into a mixed-use office development integrated with wellness and commercial elements and combined with energy efficient systems and innovative, sustainable design ideas.
Based on WTA Design Studio’s entry, the project will have an estimated total construction cost of P17.2 billion and will result to about 400,000 square meters of leasable space.
The Diliman property is one of PSALM’s most valuable properties given the development surrounding the land assets. It is where Napocor and National Transmission Corp. (TransCo) are currently housed.
The 5.1-hectare property is located at the heart of Quezon City’s central business district. Due to its strategic location and ongoing high-rise development in adjacent properties, it is considered a prime property with high potential for residential, commercial and mixed-use development.
The privatization programs aim to generate additional income for the payment of PSALM’s assumed liabilities.
PSALM is the agency mandated by the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001 to handle the sale of the remaining state-power assets and the financial obligations of Napocor.
The agency started 2019 with P449.2 billion in liabilities, which had declined to P416 billion as of the end of October.
PSALM has six years left in its corporate life ending in 2026.
