PSALM’s Diliman property eyed as a mixed-use development

MANILA, Philippines — State-run Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) will seek direction from its board to transform its prime Quezon City property into a mixed-use development following the completion of a third party feasibility study.

Isla Lipana & Co., a member firm of Pricewaterhouse-Coopers (PwC) Philippines, has completed the feasibility study on the Diliman property in Quezon City, PSALM president and CEO Irene Joy Besido-Garcia said in a text message.

She said Isla Lipana would present its study to the PSALM board in its year-end meeting.

After PSALM completed the design contest for the Diliman property in 2019, PSALM engaged the services of Isla Lipana through Republic Act 9184, or the Government Procurement Reform Act, to conduct the feasibility study to determine the most optimal structure for the privatization of the Diliman property.

The winning entry of WTA Design Studio, titled “The East Grid,” aims to develop PSALM’s 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 feasibility study – with a contract cost of P5.98 million – will confirm the numbers detailed in the winning architectural conceptual design for the development of the prime property.

Based on WTA Design Studio’s entry, the masterplan would have an estimated total construction cost of P17.2 billion and would result to about 400,000 square meters of leasable space.

The Diliman property is one of PSALM’s most valuable properties given the development surrounding the land assets. It is where the National Power Corp. (Napocor) and National Transmission Corp. (TransCo) are currently housed.

It is a 5.1-hectare property located at the heart of Quezon City’s central business district. Due to its strategic location and ongoing high-rise development in adjacent properties, it is considered a prime property with high potential for residential, commercial and mixed-use development.

The privatization programs aim to generate additional income for the payment of PSALM’s assumed liabilities.

PSALM is the agency mandated by the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) of 2001 to handle the sale of the remaining state-power assets and the financial obligations of Napocor.

The agency started 2019 with P449.2 billion which has gone down to P416 billion as of end-October. PSALM has six years left in its corporate life ending in 2026.

Article and Photo originally posted by Philippine Star last December 6, 2020 12:00am and written by Danessa Rivera.