SC Estate Builder: Investing billions in the renewable energy market over 10 years

IN line with its aspiration to help Malaysia achieve net-zero carbon emission by 2050, SC Estate Builder Bhd plans to invest between RM9 bil and RM13.5 bil in 10 years as it is gearing into the renewable energy (RE) business in Malaysia particularly in solar power plants and solar power on the roof.

Currently about 90% of the ACE Market-listed construction group’s income derives from its construction segment and the balance from the building material business.

“We are optimistic on the outlook for the group in the coming year with the expansion into RE business and is targeting the business to contribute 30 to 40% to our revenue in the next five years,” its chairman and managing director Alex Loh Boon Ginn envisioned.

Loh added the group’s subsidiary SC Estate Energy Sdn Bhd had obtained approval from the Sustainable Energy Development Authority (SEDA) to be listed under the Registered Solar PV Investor Directory on Jan 27.

“We hoped to get the licence by the end of this year in order for us to be in full swing into this RE business,” Loh said.

Meanwhile, the construction group is in the midst of hiring relevant technical personnel in order to prepare the company to apply and obtain its licence for engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning (EPCC) from SEDA and the Energy Commission (ST).

Alex Loh Boon Ginn

Touching on the large investment the group intended to make for the RE business, “We intend to raise capital via loan stock or bond issuance to embark on the 10-year project,” Loh explained.

“We plan to build 2,000-3,000 Megawatt (MW) solar power plants within 10 years in phases with 200 to 300 MW to be built per year.”

Also, the group is currently in talks with the Government to allocate it with about 3,642 hectares of land to build the solar power plants.

“Investment and development will be staggered as we also need to secure leasing land from the government,” Loh pointed out.

“Initially, the project will be constructed in the Northern region, namely Kedah and Perlis, as the states have higher peak sun hour, suitable for solar power generation.”

Besides that, Loh shared that the group also planned to undertake the construction of 2,000 to 3,000 units of affordable houses – expected to be priced from RM300,000 with the initial project in the pipeline to build 500 units of houses in Kedah – with solar power on the roof within 10 years. The housing project with gross development cost of RM150 mil, is expected to commence early next year. – April 29, 2021

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