Bina Puri Holdings Bhd via its wholly-owned subsidiary, BP Energy Sdn Bhd, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) here on March 29 with Warisan Harta Sabah Sdn Bhd to collaborate on the development of two mini hydropower sites at Sg Tuaran, Tuaran and Sg Wario, Kota Belud. Both have expected the capacity of 5MW and 3.5MW respectively.

The signing ceremony was witnessed by Datuk Haji Ramlee bin Marahaban, chairman of Warisan Harta Sabah Sdn Bhd and Dato Suhaimi bin Shahadan, chairman of BP Energy Sdn Bhd at Sutera Habour Resort here.

BP Energy was represented by Project Director Tee Hock Chuan and Assistant General Manager, Project Vincent Wong Shin Khiam while Warisan Harta Sabah was represented by its Company Secretary, Rudy Jaglul, and CEO, Tuan Mohamad Nor Bin Tahir.

Warisan Harta Sabah is strategic investment arm of the State Government of Sabah and has been granted consent in principle by the State Economic Planning Unit to develop mini hydropower projects at a few locations in Sabah.

The hydropower projects were initiated by the government since 2009 to meet the growing demand and reducing the dependency on fossil fuel. The small-scale hydropower project has been classified as run-of-river scheme with up to 30 megawatts installed capacity and also contributing to the electricity supply especially in rural areas.

In Sabah itself, the demand for electricity is forecasted to grow at a rate of five percent (medium term) in the year 2019-2024, after the short-term forecast of 6.1 percent in 2015-2018. By the year 2035, the demand for electricity in Sabah is forecasted at 1,238 MW daily usage.

In a statement on Tuesday, 3 March, Bina Puri Group Executive Director Datuk Matthew Tee Kai Woon said: "Moving forward, we are indeed very positive and planning to add more mini hydro powers onto our power portfolio following the successful listing of our power subsidiary in Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) on June 2017. With this collaboration, it will be great opportunities and serves as a platform for Bina Puri to venture more into the development of hydropower in Sabah”.

Bina Puri Group, which is primarily involved in construction activities, has completed many landmarks and iconic projects in Borneo. The recently completed was Pusat Pentadbiran Negeri Sabah (PPNS), Kota Kinabalu. Bina Puri completed the KK Sulaman Coastal Road, Wisma Innoprise, Jesselton Condominium, Institut Latihan Perindustrian Sabah, Post Graduate Centre, University Malaysia Sabah and many others.

"While construction remains the biggest top-line contributor for Bina Puri in FY2017, we believe the contribution from other business divisions, especially power supply will increase in FY2018. Prospects will be better for the company moving forward and with our combined strength and expertise, we are devoted to taking this journey to the next level to enhance our shareholders' value" Matthew Tee added.

The MoU is valid for six months from the date of signing.