Lopez-led First Gen Corp. confirmed it submitted a bid for the 796.64-megawatt Caliraya-Botocan-Kalayaan (CBK) Hydroelectric Power Plants, which were offered for sale on June 30.
“We can confirm that First Gen Group submitted a bid for CBK,” the company said.
The privatization of the CBK power plants, considered one of the country’s remaining significant power assets, had previously attracted interest from nine companies but the government has not released the results of the bidding yet.
The plants are located in the municipalities of Lumban, Majayjay and Kalayaan in Laguna province and are being privatized on an “as is, where is” basis.
State-run Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) announced earlier this month that its Privatization Bids and Awards Committee (PBAC) had determined a minimum bid price (MBP) for the CBK plants but did not disclose the amount.
“The setting of the MBP follows a comprehensive financial valuation process and consultation with relevant government agencies, ensuring that the bid terms are aligned with prevailing market conditions,” the company said. “This valuation will serve as a benchmark for evaluating the financial offers of qualified bidders.”
Companies that attended the pre-proposal conference, where PSALM presented an overview of the project, bidding process and agreements, included Thunder Consortium (Aboitiz Group, J-POWER, Sumitomo Corp.), ACEN Corp.’s GIGA ACE 11 Inc., First Gen Prime Energy Corp. of the Lopez Group, Semirara Mining & Power Corp. of the Consunji Group, Hexa Philippines Holdings Inc. (part of HEXA Renewables), Marubeni Corp. of Japan, Korea Water Resources Corp., businessman Enrique Razon’s Prime Infrastructure Capital Inc. and San Miguel Global Power Holdings Corp.
Sources indicated that San Miguel Global did not submit a bid.
The CBK hydro power plants are vital to the Luzon power system. They are currently contracted to CBK Power Company Ltd. under a 25-year Build-Rehabilitate-Operate-Transfer Agreement that began in February 2001 and is set to expire in February 2026.
PSALM enlisted the Asian Development Bank as its transaction adviser for the monetization of the CBK hydro power plants. The Department of Finance is reportedly hoping to raise P50 billion to P100 billion from the privatization.
