PPP eyed for Agus-Pulangi rehab

After the successful bidding to privatize the Caliraya-Botocan-Kalayaan (CBK) hydroelectric power plants, the government and private-sector players may next look forward to another public-private partnership (PPP) in rehabilitating the decades-old Agus-Pulangi hydropower complex in Mindanao.

- BY BEN ARNOLD DE VERA

Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Dennis Edward A. Dela Serna told Manila Bulletin over the weekend that the state-run firm "has plans" for the 1,001-megawatt (MW) Agus-Pulangi facilities.

"We are in the process of procuring a transaction advisor (TA). PPP may be the mode, depending on the modes recommended by the TA," Dela Serna said.

PSALM is procuring a commercial transaction advisor.

A World Bank document published last month showed that PSALM had submitted to the Washington-based multilateral lender an environmental and social commitment plan as part of the requirements to avail of a grant facility for project preparation for a possible PPP scheme for the Agus-Pulangi hydropower complex rehabilitation.

Specifically, the proposed grant would help structure PPP arrangements for the rehabilitation project.