Government to lease Fujimi property in Tokyo this February

MANILA, Philippines - The government will try to lease out anew its posh real estate property in Fujimi, Japan in February after postponing this several times last year due to various administrative concerns including the lack of bidders.

According to documents from the Department of Finance (DOF), interested groups vying for the lease and development contract for the property may submit prequalification requirements on Jan. 19.

They will then submit their technical and financial bids on Feb. 8. On the same day, the Bids and Awards Committee for the Philippine Government Properties in Japan (BAC-Japan) will convene to study the bids and to approve “a notice of award.”

The government and the winning bidder are expected to sign a service development contract on Feb.23, according to the documents from the Finance department.

Officials are hoping that the government would finally be able to award the contract to develop the Fujimi property this time given the strong indications of interest from prospective bidders. 

“There are at least five interested groups,” a government official said.

The property includes the residence of the Philippine ambassador to Japan.

Last year, the government announced a Dec. 21 bidding date but was forced to scrap this amid appeals from interested parties for a longer period to prepare their offers.

Furthermore, the government also changed the mode of the privatization to a “negotiated development” under which the BAC may talk with only one party if other groups fail to meet the necessary requirements.

Under a regular bidding procedure, all interested parties would have to go through all the procedural requirements. If none of the groups meet the requirements, the government would have to declare a failure of bidding.

The government hopes to bid out the 50-year lease and development contract for the property for P3 billion.

Revenues from the lease of the Fujimi property are included in the revised P30 billion privatization target of the government for this year, which is higher than the previous goal of P12.5 billion.

The revised P30 billion privatization program for the year also includes the P13 billion from the sale of the government’s Food Terminals Inc. property in Taguig and the P12 billion from the sale of its 60 percent stake in Philippine National Oil Company-Exploration Corp.

With the government’s failure to privatize the Fujimi property and other state-owned assets last year, fiscal authorities expect the 2009 budget deficit to have hit just slightly below P300 billion or way above the budget deficit ceiling of P250 billion.

Finance Secretary Margarito Teves is expected to announce next month the government’s full-year fiscal position for 2009.