KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 21): YTL Power International Bhd has confirmed a report in The Edge Malaysia weekly that the company is partnering with KDEB Waste Management Sdn Bhd to set up a RM4.5 billion waste-to-energy (WTE) plant in Rawang, Selangor.

“The company is a co-developer with KDEB Waste Management for a proposed 2,400 tonnes per day WTE plant in Selangor, with a gross generating capacity of 58 megawatts (MW),” YTL Power said in a brief bourse filing on Monday (Aug 21).

Based on preliminary documents sighted by the weekly, The Edge Malaysia reported in its latest issue that the plant — Sultan Idris Shah Green Energy Plant — is slated to be built on a 245-acre site in Rawang, and will utilise municipal waste from Petaling Jaya, Hulu Selangor, Shah Alam, Subang Jaya, Ampang Jaya and Selayang, and generate 58MW (megawatts) 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, the report said, adding that engineering, design and advisory outfit Aurecon Lestari Sdn Bhd was understood to have been roped in to handle the environmental impact assessment and social impact assessment portions of the project.

Shares of YTL Power closed at a record high of RM1.80 on Monday, giving the company a market capitalisation of RM14.68 billion. The counter has rallied 150% year to date. Daily trading volume surged to 56.67 million, more than five times the 200-day average volume of 9.69 million.

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 and 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 companies.

The company’s net profit declined 48.56% to RM519.64 million for the third quarter ended March 31, 2023, from RM1.01 billion a year earlier, in the absence of gain on the disposal of its Australian investment. Quarterly revenue, however, rose 15.28% to RM5.34 billion from RM4.65 billion, but this was offset by water, sewage and telecommunication segments.  

For the first nine months of FY2023, net profit fell 16.22% to RM891.74 million from RM1.06 billion in the same period of FY2022, despite revenue growing 11.58% to RM14.8 billion from RM13.27 billion.