PSALM receives P5.18B for properties needed for rail projects
STATE-LED Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) said on Tuesday that it had received the initial payment of P5.18 billion from the Department of Transportation (DoTr) for its properties in Sucat, Muntinlupa City.
The amount is part of the total purchase price of P5.19 billion, PSALM said in a statement.
The Sucat properties cover a total land area of 110,129 square meters or 11 hectares.
The second tranche of the sale covers various land improvements and structures.
PSALM said that the sale represents “the culmination of almost three years of coordination beginning January 2021 when the DoTr formally confirmed its interest to acquire the Sucat properties.”
The DoTr aims to use the properties for the North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR) project and the Philippine National Railways (PNR) South Long-Haul (SLH) project.
The NSCR project is a 147-kilometer (km) mass transportation railway system that will connect Malolos, Bulacan with Clark International Airport, and Tutuban, Manila with Calamba, Laguna.
The Transportation department is hoping to begin the project’s partial operations by 2027.
Meanwhile, the PNR SLH project is a 639-km railway line that will connect Metro Manila to Southern Luzon.
PSALM said it will turn over the physical Sucat properties to the DoTr on the closing date, along with the corresponding original owner’s duplicate copies of the transfer certificate titles and tax declarations.
PSALM will use the proceeds from the sale of the Sucat Properties to pay for the remaining stranded contract costs and stranded debts under the EPIRA (Electric Power Industry Reform Act),” it said. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera
