Pacifica eyes bid for Malaya power plant contract

MANILA, Philippines - Publicly-listed Pacifica Inc. will participate in the bidding for the contracted capacity of the 650-megawatt (MW) Malaya thermal power plant.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), Pacifica said it is eyeing Malaya as part of its diversification program.

“The company’s participation in this bid is another significant decision in line with its purpose to expand business opportunities in power related business,” Pacifica said.

State-owned Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM), the entity created to handle the privatization of the National Power Corp. (Napocor) assets and contracts, has set the bidding for Malaya’s independent power producer (IPP) contacts on June 16.

The Malaya thermal power plant in Pililia, Rizal is being operated by Korea Electric Power Corp. (Kepco).

Earlier, Pacifica, led by port operator Michael Romero, 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 last Friday.

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.

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

PSALM set the deadline for the submission of letter of interests to the Bids and Awards Committee not later than 5 p.m. on April 21.

Based on the timetable set by PSALM, interested investors could proceed with their respective due diligence activities.

The pre-bid conference with the bidders is set on May 12.

Aside from the Malaya IPP contracts, PSALM will also bid out the 246-MW Angat hydroelectric power plant in Norzagaray, Bulacan on April 28.

It will also offer to investors the 150-megawatt BacMan geothermal power plants in Manito, Albay and Sorsogon City, Sorsogon on May 5.