KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 12): BTM Resources Bhd (KL:BTM) said its wholly-owned subsidiary BTM Biomass Products Sdn Bhd has received another extension from the Sustainable Energy Development Authority (Seda) to complete its 10MW biomass power plant in Chukai, Terengganu.
In a filing with Bursa Malaysia on Monday, the group said it has received its third extension from Seda for the renewable energy power plant to start its operations on Dec 23, 2025.
Initially, the project was slated to kickstart its operations on January 23, 2022. But the company obtained its first extension from Seda to start operating the biomass power plant by June 23, 2023.
The second extension was granted by Seda for BTM to complete the project by June 23, 2024.
The latest extension means that BTM Biomass has until Dec 23, 2025 for commencement of the plant's operations and Jan 23, 2026 for the Feed-in-Tariff (FiT) commencement.
BTM, however, did not reveal any particular reason for the extension.
BTM obtained the approval from Seda in July 2020 to build and operate the 10MW power plant and to supply the electricity to Tenaga Nasional Bhd (KL:TENAGA) for a period of 21 years, with commencement set at no later than Jan 23, 2023.
Over the last two months, BTM has seen a shakeup in its management and board. This started in June when its chairman Loo Eng Hua and independent non-executive director Leou Thiam Lai resigned from the board. This was followed by the resignation of chief financial officer Ooi Gin Hui a month later.
Loo and Leou said they resigned amid concerns over certain material transactions which had not been adequately addressed by the executive directors of the holding and subsidiary companies, and that this could have a material impact on the group’s financial position.
Given the circumstances, they said that they were unable to fulfill their fiduciary duties and responsibilities.
Meanwhile, Ooi cited uncertainty in the business direction and orientation of the loss-making company.
Shares of BTM Resources dipped half sen or 8.33% to 5.5 sen on Monday, valuing the group at RM69.11 million. The counter has fallen over 38% since the start of this year.