Malakoff to go it alone in solar photovoltaic project

PETALING JAYA: Malakoff Corp Bhd will develop a 50MW large-scale solar photovoltaic plant in Tanjung Malim, Perak, on its own after DRB-Hicom subsidiary DRB-Hicom Environmental Services Sdn Bhd (DHES) dropped out of the project.
The consortium of Malakoff and DHES received approval for the project on a 200-acre site in December 2016.
Yesterday, however, DHES told Bursa Malaysia it was unable to reach a mutual agreement on certain terms and conditions of the joint venture for the project with Malakoff, in which DHES was to have taken a 49% stake.
In a separate filing with Bursa Malaysia, Malakoff said the Energy Commission (ST) stated in a letter dated Feb 13 that it has no objection to DHES’s withdrawal and for Malakoff to take over the whole project.
This is subject to Malakoff providing to the ST an official letter of withdrawal by DHES; issuance of a new bid bond to the ST to be fully undertaken by Malakoff in order to reflect the withdrawal of DHES; and to ensure that the scheduled commercial operation date of the project remains unchanged as according to the letter of acceptance of offer and that every term and condition in the letter of acceptance of offer is complied with.
The project involves financing, designing, supplying, building, owning, operating and maintaining a 50MW large-scale solar photovoltaic plant on a build-own-operate basis with expected commercial operation starting on July 1, 2018 for a 21-year term under the power purchase agreement.