JAG Bhd, Waste management service provider in Malaysia has announced that it inked a lease agreement to participate in the bidding process for the LSS@MEnTARI programme (Large Scale Solar) for 29MWac capacity.
JAG Renewable Energy Sdn Bhd (JRESB) had entered into an agreement with Perak-based construction and property development firm RH Silver Sdn Bhd (RHSSB) to lease 112 acres (45.32ha) of land in Manjung to bid for the project, JAG said in a statement .
It added that by 2023 power plants under the LSS@MEnTARI programme are expected to start operating. The development of each plant will take up to 18 months.
JRESB will lease land for a period of 23 years, including a renewal term of 10 years or as mutually agreed upon by RHSSB and JRESB after the expiry of the lease term.
“The agreement, which is a long-term concession from the commercial operation date, offers strong prospects for the overall growth of the group.”, JAG chairperson and executive director Datin Stacey Tan Siew Ching said.
She added that “This is part of our commitment to diversifying our earnings stream, with a view to enhance value in meaningful yet sustainable ways.We are currently making significant progress in working towards the tender process by developing and collating all necessary documents. We are positive we will be able to meet all the requirements and the submission deadline and e-waste management will always be JAG’s core business.”
“There are vast opportunities in the industry as we expect this division to grow. However, this diversification is our way of expanding our income stream while mitigating our reliance on commodity prices and exchange rates, which fluctuate according to the market,” she said.
To kick start the economic recovery and the subsequent growth engine, the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources (KeTSA) of Malaysia had launched a 1GW tender in 2016 under the Large Scale Solar (LSS) program. The program’s fourth round of auctions termed as LSS-4, offers the largest capacity in the series and is expected to boost COVID-19 economic recovery efforts of the government. The LSS-4 tender is expected to restart the investment flow and result in a possible generation of 12,000 job opportunities, says GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.
Somik Das, Senior Power Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “Taking into consideration the effects of the COVID-19, Malaysia’s cumulative solar PV capacity is expected to grow by 8.0% to about 1.1GW in 2020. The step is considered as a growth shot of an ailing economy to fight the COVID contraction.”
