This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly on August 21, 2023 - August 27, 2023

KDEB Waste Management Sdn Bhd, a wholly-owned unit of state-controlled Menteri Besar Selangor (Incorporated), is partnering YTL Power International Bhd to set up a RM4.5 billion, 2,400 tonne per day, waste-to-energy (WTE) plant in Rawang, Selangor, sources familiar with the matter tell The Edge.

According to preliminary documents sighted by The Edge, the plant — Sultan Idris Shah Green Energy Plant — is slated to be built on 245-acre Lot 3847 in Rawang, and will utilise municipal waste from Petaling Jaya, Hulu Selangor, Shah Alam, Subang Jaya, Ampang Jaya and Selayang, and generate 58mw of electricity.

Additionally, the plan is for waste materials from the plant, such as fly ash and bottom ash, to be utilised for the production of cement. YTL Power is 55.57%-controlled by YTL Corp Bhd, the flagship company of the Yeoh family, led by Tan Sri Francis Yeoh Sock Ping, but co-owned by his mother Puan Sri Tan Kai Yong @ Tan Kay Neong, and his siblings, who are involved in the running of the YTL group of companies.

Other companies under the YTL Corp banner include publicly traded Malayan Cement Bhd (formerly Lafarge Malaysia Bhd), which is 78.58%-controlled by YTL Cement Bhd and has a 71-year-old cement plant in Rawang, which is currently being refurbished. YTL Cement is wholly owned by YTL Corp.

At press time, YTL Corp had not responded to questions sent by The Edge on the tie-up with KDEB Waste Management.

Engineering, design and advisory outfit Aurecon Lestari Sdn Bhd is also understood to have been roped in to handle the environment impact assessment (EIA) and social impact assessment (SIA) portions of the project.

“Yes, it (the proposal to build the plant) is being planned now … in February this year, Lot 3847 was converted from residential use to industrial use, and the two parties (KDEB Waste Management and YTL Power) had met up with some of the residents of Kota Puteri in Rawang last month for discussions. So, the negotiations are ongoing,” one source says.

In May this year, a news portal, quoting KDEB Waste Management managing director Datuk Ramli Mohd Tahir, said that the plan is in the EIA phase and the requisite approvals for the WTE project would come in within six months to a year.

According to documents seen by The Edge, one of the reasons for choosing Rawang for the WTE plant is its accessibility via the Kuala Lumpur–Kuala Selangor Expressway (Latar), and the Batu Arang-Kuala Selangor Road, among others.

While KDEB Waste Management’s plan to build the RM4.5 billion WTE plant in Rawang is not new, YTL Power’s and Aurecon’s involvement is.

YTL Power is a major player in power generation, water and sewerage, telecommunications and digital technology, and has a presence in Malaysia, Singapore, the UK, Indonesia, Jordan and the Netherlands. For perspective, YTL Power’s gross generation capacity is about 4.8gw.

In Malaysia, YTL Power’s main asset now is the 500mw YTL Johor Solar Park, after the the expiry of its concessions for power generation assets in Paka, Terengganu, and Pasir Gudang, Johor.

Some of YTL Power’s main assets abroad are YTL PowerSeraya Pte Ltd, acquired in March 2009 from the Singapore government’s Temasek Holdings for about RM9 billion, which morphed the company into a major player in the Singapore power generation and retail market. In May last year, YTL PowerSeraya acquired Tuaspring Pte Ltd, which owns a 396mw combined cycle gas turbine power station for circa RM862 million.

In the UK, YTL Power snapped up Wessex Water Ltd for RM6.69 billion in 2002. It also acquired 33.5% of South Australian power transmission company ElectraNet, for some RM1.9 billion, in 2000, but sold the stake in May last year for RM3.07 billion.

For its nine months ended March this year, YTL Power chalked up net profits of RM891.74 million from RM14.8 billion in revenue. For the previous corresponding period, YTL Power registered net profits of RM1.06 billion on the back of RM13.27 billion in turnover.

As at end-March this year, YTL Power had cash and bank balances of RM8.93 billion, and it had long-term debt commitments of RM27.81 billion and short-term borrowings of RM3.95 billion. For the nine months ended March this year, YTL Power’s net cash from operating activities was RM2.12 billion. Its reserves stood at RM7.84 billion and total assets were RM55.54 billion.

KDEB Waste Management as at end-2021 had total assets of RM275.6 million and total liabilities of RM249.6 million. For the year in review, it raked in after-tax profits of RM6.32 million from RM498.23 million in sales. It had retained earnings of RM17.88 million as at end-2021.

YTL Power ended trading last Thursday at RM1.71, translating to a market capitalisation of RM13.85 billion. Its shares hit a multi-year high of RM1.73 on Aug 16 and has gained nearly 130% since end-February this year. 

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