Pacifica to bid for Cebu power plant contract

MANILA, Philippines - Publicly-listed industrial holding firm Pacifica Inc. will bid anew for another asset of the National Power Corp. (Napocor).

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), Pacifica said it will participate in the bidding for the contracted capacity of the Naga power plant complex in Cebu.

“This is another initiative of the company in line with its firm intention to expand business opportunities into power-related activities,” Pacifica told the PSE.

Pacifica joins about three other firms that signified interest to join the Naga bidding, including powerhouse San Miguel Corp.

The state-run Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) will privatize the independent power producer administrator (IPPA) contract for Naga on Aug. 18. The state-run asset management firm will also bid out the IPP contracts of the Unified Leyte geothermal and Malaya diesel power facilities in the coming months.

Upon appointment, the Naga complex IPPA will manage the Naga contracted capacity, which is an aggregate of the contracted capacities in the 39-megawatt (MW) Cebu diesel power plant 1, and the Cebu 1 and Cebu 2 coal power plant complexes, with a total installed capacity of 110 MW.

PSALM vice president Conrad Tolentino said they expect at least four groups to participate in the contract bidding.

Pacifica had been expressing interest to join biddings but had either decided not to join at the last minute or not won any of the auctions.

Recently, Pacifica also disclosed plans to bid for the Subic diesel-fired power plant project.

Pacifica, led by port operator Michael Romero, also expressed interest in the contracted capacity of the 1,200-MW Ilijan combined-cycle power plant but did not submit any bid during the auction.

It also participated in the bidding of the contracted capacities of the San Roque, Bakun and Benguet hydroelectric power plants but failed to win any of the contracts.

The company was incorporated on Sept. 2, 1957 to engage in exploration, drilling and exploitation of oil, gas and other volatile substances. The Securities and Exchange Commission approved its conversion into a holding company in 2000.