Gov’t eyes negotiated contract for Transco

The National Government’s privatization bids and awards committee will meet this week to declare a second failed bidding for the National Transmission Corp. (Transco).

"The committee will also discuss options to take whether to negotiate or another strategy which is to hold another bidding," Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) vice president Froilan Tampinco said in an interview.

Tampinco said if indications tend to lead toward negotiation, "we might probably go into negotiated contract."

In assessing Transco’s failed bidding last Friday Tampinco said: "During the exploratory talks with interested parties, they both showed interest in transmission and generation assets of National Power Corp. (Napocor). Maybe after query and weighing their options, they decided to go for the generation assets."

Despite the failure in Transco’s bidding, he said they will push through with the sale of the generating assets of Napocor. "A public notice for the sale of generating assets of Napocor will be out this week," he added.

Prospective investors, he said, will be given a month to express their interest. "After we have gone through their reactions and suggestions after a month, we can finalize the groupings of the generating assets," he said.

After this, he said PSALM will proceed with the initial sale of the generating assets of Napocor.

PSALM decided to simultaneously bid out the generation assets of Napocor with the transmission assets. The original plan was to privatize Transco first before selling the generating plants of the power firm.

Transco will bid out the Sucat and Limay plants, which will be converted into gas-fired power facilities, in the last quarter of 2003.

The government is also looking at auctioning off the Agus 3 hydro- power plant in Mindanao soon.

Aside from Sucat, Limay and Agus 3, other assets to be sold include: Malaya, Navotas, Pinamucan, two mini-hydro plants in Mindanao and one small diesel plant in Bohol. Sucat and Limay are fuel-based plants which are being eyed to be converted into gas-fired facilities to serve as anchor load and justify the construction of gas pipeline from Batangas to Manila and Bataan to Manila.

Sucat is a 600-megawatt (MW) diesel-fired power plant located in Parañaque which had been decommissioned while Limay has a capacity of 620 MW gas turbine, also run by diesel.

The government expects to raise about $2 billion from the sale of the generation facilities of Napocor.