State-run Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. said Wednesday it received an approval from the Department of Finance to develop the 5.195-hectare Diliman property in Quezon City.
“There is a go signal from DOF to proceed with the development of the Diliman property. However, there are some issues we need to resolve such as the extension of life of PSALM,” PSALM president Irene Garcia said.
The Diliman property hosts the office of National Power Corp. and National Transmission Corp. PSALM in December 2019 awarded the contract for the conduct of the feasibility study on the development of the Diliman property to Isla Lipana & Co. (PwC Philippines).
Garcia said PWC recently completed the feasibility study which PSALM presented to the DOF and which was approved. She said the study was adjusted to take into account the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic
“The pandemic had caused a lot of changes in the real estate development and because of this, we had to do some adjustments on the assumptions of the study,” she said.
The feasibility study will determine the property’s marketability, validate the cost of investment and identify appropriate privatization schemes for the Quezon City property to attract prospective developers.
Garcia said while there is already a go-signal from the DOF to pursue the development of the Diliman property , “it is imperative we first work on the extension of PSALM’s corporate life.”
PSALM’s corporate life is only up to June 2026. PSALM has 25 years from the effectivity of the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001 to fulfill its twin mandates unless otherwise extended by law.
“For that [Diliman] project, it really is a long-term development. To pursue that, we first have to work on the extension of PSALM’s corporate life. We need to extend it before we can work on the long term plan of developing the Diliman property,” she said.
Garcia said Rep. Mikee Arroyo already filed a bill in the House of Representatives to extend PSALM’s corporate life.
PSALM previously selected the architectural conceptual design submitted by WTA Design Studio as the winning conceptual design for PSALM’s Diliman property.
The winning entry of WTA Design Studio titled, “The East Grid,” aims to develop PSALM’s 5.195-hectare Diliman property into a mixed-use office development integrated with wellness and commercial elements and combined with energy efficient systems and innovative, sustainable design ideas.
The conceptual design will serve as the basis for the master planning and privatization of the Diliman property.
PSALM manages the assets and liabilities of National Power Corp. as mandated under the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001.