KUALA LUMPUR (April 3): Vertice Bhd, formerly Voir Holdings Bhd, has been awarded a sub-contract job valued at RM218.48 million in relation to upgrading works of the federal road from Gambang, Pahang, to Segamat, Johor.

Its wholly-owned unit Vertice Construction Sdn Bhd received the letter of award today for the job from Kumpulan Liziz Sdn Bhd, the main sub-contractor for the upgrading of the federal road known as Federal Road 12 (FR12), who was awarded by Jabatan Kerjaya Raya Malaysia (Malaysian Public Works Department).

Vertice said in a statement that its jobscope involves the coordination, inspection, testing, commissioning, as well as obtaining final approval for works done for the proposed upgrading works of the FR12.

Construction of the project will take about 13 months, starting from April 9 this year to April 30, 2019, and should contribute positively to the group's financial performance in both the current financial year ending Dec 31, 2018 (FY18) and FY19, Vertice said.

The group's current orderbook presently stands at RM385 million, and is expected to occupy its construction arm until FY20.

Vertice's board of directors said the contract is its "biggest contract award yet". 

"This project is significant to us due to its large contract value and is a testament to our client’s confidence in our ability to deliver.

"This contract win is a huge leap in our new business strategic direction of diversifying into the construction industry. Our construction arm is at its growth stages and we are certain that it will continue to grow with our continuous precise execution and securing of new contracts in the near future,” the board added.

Vertice ventured into construction activities via Vertice Construction in the fourth quarter of 2016, to diversify its income streams.

The group, which still maintains fashion apparel as one of its core businesses, appointed former chief justice Tun Arifin Zakaria as its new non-executive independent chairman in February.