KUALA LUMPUR (April 29): Gamuda Bhd (KL:GAMUDA) said on Wednesday its joint venture has been appointed as the contractor for the first phase of the Ulu Padas water supply project valued at RM5.98 billion.
The contract was awarded by the Sabah State Water Department to Upper Padas Power Sdn Bhd (UPPSB), a wholly-owned subsidiary of UPP Holdings Sdn Bhd. Gamuda holds a 45% stake in UPP Holdings, while Sabah Energy Corporation Sdn Bhd owns 40% and Kerjaya Kagum Hitech JV Sdn Bhd holds the remaining 15%.
The first phase involves the construction of a water treatment plant in Beaufort with a capacity of 350 million litres per day, along with approximately 200km of pipelines spanning Sabah’s west coast from Sipitang to Kota Kinabalu, Gamuda said in an exchange filing.
Construction is slated to begin in May 2026, with completion targeted within 42 months from the date of site possession, and treated water expected to be delivered to end-users by 2029. The contract is projected to contribute positively to Gamuda's earnings from the financial year ending July 31, 2026 through to completion.
Under the payment structure, RM759 million will be paid via three progressive interim payments, with the remaining RM5.22 billion payable upon completion, said Gamuda.
According to Gamuda, the plant will complement and be integrated with the Ulu Padas hydroelectric project, which has an installed capacity of 187.5MW. Once operational, the “bolt-on” facility is expected to supply treated water at scale to Sabah, helping to address long-standing shortages caused by tight reserve margins and persistent non-revenue water issues.
“The water and power security delivered by these projects will be critical to attract high-impact investors, which will be key to driving Sabah’s economic growth in the years to come,” said Gamuda.
The Ulu Padas water supply scheme, announced in October 2023, will be developed in phases, with an ultimate design capacity of 950 million litres per day to serve Sabah’s west coast.
As at end-January, Gamuda’s order book stood at a record RM44 billion, supported by the expansion of its Australian operations following several major infrastructure and energy contract wins. Its unbilled property sales also reached a record RM8 billion.
For the second quarter ended Jan 31, 2026 (2QFY2026), the group’s net profit rose 5% to RM229.52 million from RM218.85 million a year earlier, as stronger domestic project activity offset weaker foreign billings. Quarterly revenue increased 10% year-on-year to RM4.3 billion.
At market close on Wednesday, shares of Gamuda slipped four sen or 0.9% at RM4.42. This gave the construction group a market capitalisation of RM26.33 billion. Year-to-date, the counter has fallen over 10%.