Thursday 28 Mar 2024
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KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Mohd Nazri Shahruddin, currently the vice-president of new business and major products in Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB), has been appointed the chief executive of 1Malaysia Development Bhd’s (1MDB) power generation unit that is due to be listed early next year.

According to industry sources, Nazri tendered his resignation within 24 hours earlier this week to begin his appointment at the unit, 1MDB Energy Ventures, from Wednesday.

The power industry veteran has been holding his post in TNB for the past two years, following his appointment as vice president of the generation division since 2008.

His resignation from TNB and immediate appointment by 1MDB caught some in the industry by surprise as Dr Ong Peng Su, chief executive officer (CEO) of Powertek Energy Sdn Bhd and president of the Association of Independent Power Producers, was tipped to helm the power unit. In the light of Nazri’s appointment, Ong is said to be taking on an advisory role.

Nazri, with experience in developing and operating power projects, will take on the challenging task of completing the listing of 1MDB’s power assets that has been delayed several times. The proposed listing is expected to raise some US$4.5 billion (RM14.7 billion).

1MDB is said to have overpaid for some RM12.5 billion worth of power assets that were acquired in the past three years, including 16 power and desalination plants with a capacity of 5,570mw.

The group has bagged some 4,050mw of power projects this year, which lend weight to the proposed listing exercise.

According to TNB’s annual report, Nazri has almost 35 years of experience in the industry after he joined the National Electric Board in 1979. Among the significant projects that he has been involved in include the first independent water and power producer project in Saudi Arabia, the Shuaibah Power and Water Facility of which he headed a team from TNB, Khazanah Nasional Bhd and Malakoff Corp Bhd.

Nazri has also served in the operations and maintenance of several local power stations, including the Sultan Azlan Shah Power Station in Perak.

On top of that, he has experience in developing coal-fired power plant projects. This is a good fit since the biggest and most immediate project on 1MDB Energy’s plate at the moment is the RM11 billion 2,000mw coal-fired project known as Project 3B. It has been renamed Jimah East and the first phase of commercial operations is due in Oct 2018.


This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on October 3, 2014.

 

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