KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 24): Construction engineering company Nestcon Bhd (KL:NESTCON) said on Tuesday that it has secured two contracts to develop a total of 18.99 megawatts (MWac) of large-scale solar photovoltaic (LSSPV) plants in Sabah.
In a filing with the stock exchange, Nestcon said its wholly owned subsidiary, Nestcon Infra Sdn Bhd, received letters of notification (LONs) from the Energy Commission of Sabah on Dec 19 and Dec 23, respectively.
The LONs are for the development of a four MWac plant in Sri Tanjong, Tawau, on Sabah’s southeast coast, and a 14.99 MWac plant in Bongawan, Kimanis, on the west coast of the state.
Under the LONs, the projects will include a 25-year power purchase agreement, with strict timeline requirements, including a commercial operation date no later than Nov 30, 2026, financial close within the stipulated timeline, and the submission of a commitment bond to the Energy Commission of Sabah.
Nestcon plans to finance the project through internally generated funds and/or bank borrowings.
"The acceptance of the LONs by Nestcon Infra to undertake the project is expected to positively contribute to the company's net assets per share, earnings per share, and gearing throughout the project's duration," Nestcon said.
On Dec 12, Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor said the Sabah Energy Council had approved the award of large-scale solar (LSS) projects to 15 bidders, totalling 199MW under the LSS Sabah 2024 bidding process.
However, the authority did not follow past practices of revealing the details of the winning LSS bids.
Besides Nestcon, the only other company to declare itself as a winner thus far is Coastal Contracts Bhd(KL:COASTAL). Its wholly owned subsidiary, Coastal Power Holdings Sdn Bhd (CPHSB), led a consortium that won the bid to develop a 15MWac LSSPV plant on Sabah's east coast.
Shares in Nestcon gained half a sen, or 1.3%, to 39.5 sen at the market close on Tuesday, giving it a market capitalisation of RM282.3 million.