Six bidders, including those connected with businessmen Lucio Co and Michael “Mikee” Romero, are looking to own the site of the former 225-megawatt (MW) Bataan Thermal Power Plant (BTPP) in Limay town, according to government-owned Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corporation (PSALM).
The six registered bidders, according to PSALM, are Romero family-owned Fort Pilar Energy, Inc.; Co-chaired Bellagio Holdings, Inc.; Pan Pacific Renewable Power Philippines; Panasia Energy, Inc.; Cordillera Hydro Corporation; and a certain Laylani Latina De Vera.
Fort Pilar Energy recently bought the 650MW Malaya Thermal Power Plant from PSALM, while Co runs the Puregold chain of supermarkets. Pan Pacific’s 22.5MW hydropower project in Tinglayan, Kalinga was recently endorsed for system impact study by the Department of Energy to the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines. Panasia Energy owns a 648MW gas-fired power plant near the old BTPP site.
Meanwhile, PSALM has extended the bidding deadline for the site of the old 225-megawatt Bataan Thermal Power Plant to Tuesday, November 9 from last Friday, November 5.
PSALM said the extension was granted to “to give ample time for all the interested parties to undertake thorough due diligence on the assets, allowing them an opportunity to do site visit, to review pertinent documents and to revisit their business plans” vis-à-vis the government-owned firm’s requirements.
The minimum bid price has been set at Php250.4 million.
Photo of Lucio Co from PBCOM website.
Photo of Mikee Romero from House of Representatives website.