KUALA LUMPUR (June 5): UEM Group Bhd, a wholly-owned unit of Khazanah Nasional Bhd, said on Wednesday that it has signed an agreement to develop a 500-megawatt (MW) hybrid solar power plant project in Johor.

UEM Group through its green industry arm UEM Lestra Bhd inked the agreement with Blueleaf Energy and ITRAMAS Corporation Sdn bhd. This marks the second project to be developed by UEM Lestra and its partners as part of the one-gigawatt (GW) hybrid solar power plant flagship venture under the National Energy Transition Roadmap (NETR), according to a statement.

“In less than a year of us signing the Memorandum of Understanding (in July 2023), we have agreed on all of the terms and signed all of the necessary agreements. This shows the commitment and dedication of all parties involved in realising the ambitious 1 GW hybrid solar power plant venture,” said managing director of UEM Group and chairman of UEM Lestra Datuk Mohd Izani Ghani.

“The collaboration between both domestic and foreign entities in this project allows us to leverage on the strategic complementarities and generate the momentum in driving forward Malaysia’s energy transition agenda. All hands are now on deck to attain the necessary endorsements from the relevant authorities and at the same time continue to secure potential off-takers, which to date have been very encouraging,” he added.

UEM Lestra, Blueleaf and ITRAMAS will work together with the government on the details of the third-party access (TPA) framework that will be required for the project to move to the execution phase, the statement read.

A shareholders' agreement has been formaliSed between UEM Lestra and Blueleaf Energy to establish a joint venture entity named Lestra Blueleaf JV Sdn Bhd, with a 51% stake controlled by UEM Lestra while the remaining 49% will be owned by Blueleaf Energy.

Additionally, a technical partner agreement has been inked between Lestra Blueleaf JV and ITRAMAS which will see the latter provide technical services in developing a complete engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning (EPCC) package.