After a letdown on its first attempt, the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corporation (PSALM) is re-scheduling at the auction block the privatization of the 55-megawatt Naga land-based gas turbine power facility in Cebu.

The company requires prospective bidders to submit their letters of interest (LOI) not later than July 1 this year – the prescribed deadline on the newly-issued tender notice for the plant’s divestment.

“Only interested parties that submit an LOI by the LOI submission deadline shall be allowed to participate further in the privatization of the asset,” the company said.

Due diligence process has been permitted from June 15 to September 14, 2009; while the pre-bid conference is set on July 15. The bid submission deadline is September 16.

The company added an investor-group can be considered an “interested party” only upon submission of LOI and would be willing to enter into pertinent agreements relative to the asset’s privatization process.

As a pre-requisite to the receipt of the Bidding Package, interested parties are enjoined to sign a Confidentiality Agreement and an Undertaking pursuant to the provisions of the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA); and must also pay a non-refundable fee of $2,000.

PSALM took its shot at divesting the asset last April 22, banking on the interest of two prospective bidders. As it turned out though, the privatization exercise did not come into fruition.

The pre-bid conference is generally one crucial part in the asset divestment process as this gives the investors the chance to raise their respective questions and concerns on the assets being sold.

Whether such concerns have any chance of getting addressed or concurred in by PSALM, the pre-bid phase is also the turning point for prospective bidders to decide if they will advance to bid submission or defer from participating further in the sale process.

The Naga thermal facility is among the assets lined up by PSALM – all with the intent to satisfy its mandate of fully dismantling the monopoly of state-run National Power Corporation.

Like in the other plants it already privatized, PSALM said the asset will be sold on an “as is, where is’ basis.”

The thermal plant is part of the thermal and diesel power facilities at the Naga complex; which have an aggregate capacity of 203.80 megawatts.

The asset is currently under a Rehabilitation, Operation, Maintenance and Management (ROMM) agreement between NPC and SPC Power Corporation (formerly Salcon Power).

The bidding terms stipulate that “prior to the transfer of the asset from its current location, the clearance for such transfer from the Department of Energy must be secured.”