TRC Synergy tenders for projects worth RM2bil this year

KUALA LUMPUR: Construction player TRC Synergy Bhd is actively bidding for RM2 billion worth of projects this year while striving to reduce reliance on the segment.

Executive director Datuk AbdulAziz Mohamad said the company has set a realistic target of RM2 billion this year as compared with a RM5 billion tender book last year, in line with the current trend in the industry.

"At the moment, the construction division contributes 90 per cent to the turnover, while the remaining 10 per cent is contributed by the property segment,” he told reporters after the company’s annual general meeting here today.

He also revealed that TRC secured construction projects worth RM609 million last year.

"As for this year, the total value of projects that we have tendered and will tender for is RM2 billion, including projects related to the Pan Borneo Highway in Sarawak,” he said.

Commenting on the decline of the Bursa listed construction index by 50 per cent last year from 2017, AbdulAziz said the situation remains a concern as it reflects on the market volatility.

"But with our portfolios in hand and opportunities that we have been exposed to, I think we are not going to be affected as much as the other 50 per cent counters.

"We are quite confident we are still able to achieve the conservative outlook that we have set up,” he added.

He elaborated that going forward, TRC Synergy is looking to increase the contribution from the property segment to 20 per cent, particularly after the mixed-use development project Ara Damansara kicks off in the late third quarter (3Q19) of this year.

The first phase of the project, a joint venture with Syarikat Prasarana Negara Bhd, was postponed to 3Q19 from 3Q18 due to weak market conditions. 

"The gross development value of the Ara Damansara project is RM1 billion and it gives us around RM200 million a year for five years, and this is very significant to the group’s turnover,” AbdulAziz said.

Asked whether TRC Synergy would embark on a landbank expansion, he noted that the company would focus on joint ventures rather than investing in acquiring land.

The company’s property development projects are concentrated within the Klang Valley, although TRC also has 10.93 hectares of land in Sri Alam, Johor Bahru. - Bernama