Korean firm lone bidder for Malaya plant

MANILA, Philippines — Korean firm Soosan ENS Co. Ltd. is the lone bidder to operate and maintain the 650-megawatt (MW) Malaya Thermal Power Plant in Rizal until its privatization the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) said.

PSALM held a virtual bid opening for the one-year operation and maintenance service contract (OMSC) of the Malaya TPP Monday.

Only Soosan ENS emerged as a lone bidder with a bid of P222.55 million for the one-year service contract. The bid is below the approved budget of P224.8 million for the procurement of the OMSC.

PSALM said the bid submitted is still subject to the detailed bid evaluation and post-qualification activities.

“Should Soosan ENS pass the said activities, the bid will be presented to the PSALM board of directors for the approval of the issuance of the notice of award,” it said.

The bidding for the one-year OMSC of the Malaya TPP was launched in January. Last year, Soosan ENS bagged the operation and maintenance (O&M) contract MTPP.

Part of the responsibilities under the service contract includes the day-to-day upkeep, management and maintenance or repair of the power plant and its equipment.

The OMSC will be bid out annually until the MTPP is privatized. PSALM is targeting to rebid the power asset within the year.

MTPP is currently designated as a must run unit (MRU) by the Department of Energy (DOE) to address supply deficiency when operating power plants in the grid suddenly bog down or become unavailable.

Located in Pililia, Rizal, the MTPP consists of a 300-MW unit with a once-through type boiler and a 350-MW unit fitted with a conventional boiler. However, only the second unit is working.

It was last rehabilitated in 1995 by Korea Electric Power Corp. under a 15-year rehabilitate-operate-manage-maintain agreement.