Prospects are good for the sale of the 108-megawatt (MW) Aplaya and 22.3-MW General Santos diesel power plant package if the enthusiasm of the two investor groups who attended yesterday’s (01 April 2009) pre-bid conference for the decommissioned power facilities is any gauge.

Following the standard process in all its bidding exercises, the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corporation (PSALM) conducted the pre-bid conference to allow the two Filipino participants to raise queries and clarify issues on PSALM’s Bidding Procedures for the retired power plants. Both groups did not disappoint as they asked questions that ranged from financing arrangements to dismantling modes. The investors were asked to write down their queries to ensure these would be adequately addressed by PSALM.

After the Holy Week respite, the two participants will continue to conduct their respective due diligence on the two Mindanao-based plants, the deadline of which is on 11 May 2009. The second round of bidding for the Aplaya-General Santos package is on 13 May 2009.

When it was first opened on 03 September 2008, the bidding for the retired power facilities was declared a failure because only one bidder submitted the documentary requirements.

The Aplaya diesel plant in Misamis Oriental consists of six 18-MW units that were commissioned between 1979 and 1982. The General Santos Diesel Power Plant in South Cotabato, on the other hand, comprises three 7.44-MW turbines that ran on either bunker or diesel fuel.