KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 21): KPower Bhd, in a consortium with a China company, has bagged a RM70 million contract to undertake engineering, design, procurement, construction, and commissioning (EPCC) works of small hydro power plants in Kota Marudu, Sabah.

In a bourse filing on Monday (Feb 21), KPower said its wholly-owned subsidiary KPower Engineering Sdn Bhd (KPEng), together with Tellhow International Engineering & Contracting Co Ltd, had on Feb 18 accepted the letter of award from One River Power Sdn Bhd (ORP) to take-over from the previous contractor and complete the EPCC job of the small hydro power plants in Sg Bengkoka Upper, Sg Bengkoka Lower and Sg Togohu in Kota Marudu, totalling a capacity of 29.1 megawatts (MW). ORP, a subsidiary of OHP Ventures Sdn Bhd, was established to undertake the development of the project.

Tellhow International Engineering & Contracting is a subsidiary of Shanghai-listed Tellhow Sci-Tech Co Ltd.

The work is set to be completed by the end of this year.

"The award is expected to contribute positively to the group's net assets, consolidated earnings, and earnings per share for the financial year ending June 30, 2022 to 2023," said KPower.

The award constitutes a recurrent related party transaction as KPower executive chairman and group managing director Mustakim Mat Nun and group chief financial officer Amirul Afif Abd Aziz are directors at OHP Ventures, as well as major shareholders with a 70% stake in the latter.

In a separate statement, KPower said the project is 80% complete, with one site certified to achieve the stipulated commercial operation date by the Sustainable Energy Development Authority.

At 2.42pm, KPower shares were up 4.5 sen or 8.33% at 58 sen, valuing it at RM320.25 million. The stock was up 39.29% year-to-date.