Gadang eyes RM500mil jobs

KUALA LUMPUR: Gadang Holdings Bhd is expected to replenish its construction orderbook by RM500mil in six months' time from its current tendering of projects worth RM3bil.

According to managing director and chief executive officer Tan Sri Kok Onn, Gadang has an orderbook of RM1.6bil at present.

“We are also interested to further participate in the Klang Valley Mass Rapid Transit (KVMRT) project for Line 2,” he told StarBiz after the company's AGM recently.

Currently, Gadang, mainly involved in construction and property development, has already started work on the V2 package of KVMRT valued at RM863mil, which is the biggest project in its orderbook.

Other works include Shah Alam Hospital project valued at RM410mil and newly secured phase 1 of site preparation work for the proposed Refinery and Petrochemical Intergrated Development (Rapid) project valued at RM312.8mil.

It was recently reported that Gadang was bidding, together with its foreign joint-venture partners, for power-supply infrastructure jobs in the Rapid project.

It was also bidding for some works in the Tun Razak Exchange and KLCC basement car parks.

Kok added that the construction outlook for the next five years looked rosy based on the infrastructure development plan already announced by the Government.

Construction activity rose by 18.3% in the third quarter, pushed up by ongoing civil engineering and residential work.

In terms of property, Gadang Land Sdn Bhd managing director Ling Hock Hing said the company was looking forward to the launches of several projects in Kuala Lumpur, Pokok Sena, Kedah and Tampoi, Johor Baru.

These projects have a total gross development value (GDV) of about RM735mil.

“We are moving on the 800 units of condominiums in Salak South, Kuala Lumpur with GDV of RM350mil, in Pokok Sena we have mixed development of total GDV of about RM85mil and we are also working on also phase 2 of mixed development in Tampoi with GDV RM300mil,” he said, adding that Gadang had about 230 acres of landbank.

Ling said Gadang had also some other pockets of development in several locations in Kuala Lumpur involving seven to eight acres of land. For the previous financial year ended May 31, construction and property development business contributed pre-tax profit of RM7.6mil and RM10.9mil respectively to the group.

Besides, these two sectors, Gadang is also involved in the plantation and utility businesses.