THE GOVERNMENT is targeting to sell three big-ticket real estate assets this 12 months, which, together with the proceeds from the privatization of Caliraya‑Botocan‑Kalayaan (CBK) last 12 months, could yield a combined P101 billion in revenues, the Department of Finance (DoF) said.
The Food Terminal, Inc. (FTI), the Mile Long Complex, and the Atrium condominium in Makati City are slated for disposal this 12 months, the Privatization and Management Office (PMO) said in a Viber message on Feb. 2.
The PMO serves because the marketing arm of the federal government concerning transferred assets.
Nonetheless, the Privatization Council has not approved minimum prices for these properties, it said.
“Along with the privatization of CBK, the privatization of those three assets and certain shares of stock, the NG (National Government) is targeting privatization nontax revenue of P101 billion,” the PMO said.
This goal is far higher than the P5-billion privatization goal for 2025. The PMO has not released data on its full-year 2025 revenues.
Based on a document seen by BusinessWorld last 12 months, the FTI property in Taguig City has an estimated value of P40.4 billion.
Meanwhile, the Mile Long Complex in Makati City is value about P12.26 billion. That is occupied by various tenants with buildings and has other land improvements classified as residential and industrial lots.
Also in Makati, the Atrium property, consisting of 24 condominium units and 21 parking slots, has been valued at about P449 million.
Last 12 months, the federal government privatized the 733.95-megawatt CBK hydroelectric power complex in Laguna, awarding it to the Thunder Consortium, which offered P36.27 billion. The consortium was made up of Aboitiz Renewables, Inc., Sumitomo Corp., and Electric Power Development Co.
Analysts said the federal government’s P101-billion privatization goal for this 12 months is ambitious as a consequence of execution.
The Marcos administration’s nontax revenue goal from asset sales this 12 months is “more of an aspirational ceiling than a sensible baseline,” Leonardo A. Lanzona, an economics professor at Ateneo de Manila University, said.
“The federal government has the suitable assets and the suitable intent, but Philippine privatization has a deeply entrenched pattern of ambitious targets followed by dramatic downgrades,” he said in a Messenger chat on Tuesday.
Last 12 months’s P5-billion privatization goal was cut from the unique P101 billion as the federal government said it saw “slight delays” in selling properties.
“A more credible near-term expectation is likely to be something within the P30 [billion] to P50-billion range — achievable if one or two of the mega-deals actually close on time — with the total P101 billion being more of a 2026-2027 cumulative story slightly than a single-year final result,” Mr. Lanzona said.
Conflicting policy priorities throughout the Executive branch have often stalled deals and the shortage of a transparent directive has put assets in limbo, he added, citing the case of the FTI property. The Agriculture department has said it desires to revive the FTI’s operations, at the same time as the DoF has long pushed for its privatization.
“The optimist in me would say that the goal is ambitious but not inconceivable, though execution risk is high given the Philippines’ track record of delays from valuation disputes, legal challenges, and slow transaction processes,” John Paolo R. Rivera, a senior research fellow on the Philippine Institute for Development Studies, likewise said in a Viber message.
“Achieving it is going to depend upon market timing, investor appetite for big real estate assets, and the federal government’s ability to run transparent, competitive bidding without governance concerns,” he said. “Key derailment risks include weak market conditions, regulatory or court bottlenecks, and credibility issues that would discourage bidders or depress prices.” — Aubrey Rose A. Inosante