PETALING JAYA: Ekovest Holdings Sdn Bhd’s RM1.025bil financing facility secured from MBSB Bank Bhd and MBSB Investment Bank Bhd will partly fund the Duta-Ulu Klang Expressway (Duke) highway network expansion and growth of Ekovest Bhd
’s other businesses such as PLS Plantations Bhd.
Tan Sri Lim Kang Hoo, Ekovest’s largest single shareholder, said in a briefing with the media that the group’s recent renounceable rights issue will also help fund Duke, as well as its extension, the Laluan Istana-Kiara Expressway (Like) project.
He added the debt restructuring for the Duke 3, necessitated by cost overruns, has been completed with the agreement of bondholders.
“Going forward, the company will concentrate on the Duke network and traffic dispersal across Kuala Lumpur, given the slow market and as well as limited number of government projects,” Lim said.
“As the population continues to grow, Duke will see growth over the long term, and we will work with the government and private sector that will need to link into this dispersal, which will be very important to the expansion of Kuala Lumpur and greater Kuala Lumpur,” he added.
The total funding required for the Like project is said to be fixed at RM2.5bil, with construction work targeted to begin in the first quarter of financial year 2027 and completion expected in 2031.
The Duke 1 and Duke 2 highways are already profitable, reporting a combined aggregate annual average daily traffic of 240,000 vehicles.
Lim added that the focus will largely remain in the central business district area, and the highway network is expected to grow along with the city.
He said demand should sustain over the long term as developers would have to tap into the highway, and given the 60-year toll concessions, the business would see stable growth across that period.
Meanwhile, PLS Plantations, of which Ekovest owns a majority stake, is intended to be transformed into a “purpose vehicle” to improve food security in the nation through more sustainable practices in agriculture, aquaculture, and meat.
According to Lim, the group has future plans to partner with local farmers to help them develop their businesses, working with banks to provide them with funding and introduce advanced technologies in an entrepreneurial programme.
PLS Plantations currently owns more than 100,000 acres of land in Johor, and intends to expand to other states, Lim shared.
Beyond this, Ekovest continues to build within its landbanks across the KL Bund project area along the Gombak river.
The project is set to feature a 2.2-kms modern riverwalk corridor, with plans for a double-decked river flow design to help with flood mitigation for the city.
This would feature a shallow, upper river channel that carries clean water on the surface, while beneath sits an underground channel which will divert floodwater during heavy rains.
