KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 30): UEM Group Bhd, the infrastructure arm of Khazanah Nasional Bhd, is acquiring up to 51% in Nur Power Sdn Bhd, the power producer in Kulim Hi-Tech Park in Kedah.

UEM Group’s wholly owned subsidiary and green industry arm UEM Lestra Bhd purchased the stake, UEM Group said in a statement.

Nur Power's current sole shareholder is Dulang Ekuiti Sdn Bhd.

Dulang is controlled by Teras Dara Konsortium Sdn Bhd with a 60% stake, Ivory Insights Sdn Bhd (10.93%), and Alpine Motion Sdn Bhd (29.06%) — belonging to the children of the late former minister Tan Sri Jamaludin Jarjis, according to checks on the Companies Commission of Malaysia.

The statement did not elaborate on the acquisition price and the sellers.

The official agreement for the stake acquisition was formalised during the launching ceremony of Nur Power's 90-megawatt (MW) open-cycle gas turbine power station at the Kulim Hi-Tech Park.

Nur Power has a total generating capacity of 310MW, which includes the newly operational 90MW gas plant.

Nur Power has invested in another 130MW combined-cycle gas turbine power station that is expected to be completed by 2025, UEM Group said.

It is also developing a 100MW solar power plant, which will be operational in two phases in 2025 and 2027.

UEM Lestra chief executive officer Harman Faiz Habib Muhammad said the acquisition is driven by the potential for significant value creation through Nur Power’s established operational capabilities, which present ample opportunities for future growth.

"This acquisition of a majority stake in Nur Power is a key component of UEM Lestra’s RM1.5 billion commitment to be deployed over the next 24 months to accelerate the decarbonisation of industrial parks across Malaysia," Harman said.

Harman added that UEM Lestra will collaborate with Nur Power to lead comprehensive industrial decarbonisation initiatives, starting with Kulim Hi-Tech Park and eventually expanding to other industrial parks in the country.

Meanwhile, Nur Power managing director Ikwan Hafiz Jamaludin said that the company remains committed to expanding its generation capacity to meet the growing electricity demand at Kulim Hi-Tech Park.

This will ensure that power quality is maintained to meet the standards required by its customers, particularly those in high-tech industries, Ikwan added.

UEM Lestra is currently in pursuit of a 1GW solar park project together with Itramas Corp Sdn Bhd, as announced in the National Energy Transition Roadmap (NETR) in 2023.

Other partners include renewable energy asset investor Blueleaf Energy of Macquarie Asset Management, HEXA Renewables of infrastructure investor I Squared Capital, and China Machinery Engineering Wuxi Co Ltd.