KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 30): WZ Satu Bhd hopes to secure civil work packages to build the Central Spine Road (CSR) from the government within the next few months, after being delayed for some time as the government is finalising the funding packages.

Partnering with UEM Group Bhd, the company submitted a request for proposal to the government in June 2016.

"It has been a while now, and to be honest I feel quite disappointed with myself that I have not been able to achieve this at the moment. But it's not our decision, it is up to the government," executive chairman and chief executive officer Tengku Datuk Uzir Tengku Ubaidillah told reporters after the group's annual general meeting today.

"This project is actually due... it is definitely a good project for the country. But of course, I think under the present government's funding situation, the contracts will probably be awarded in phases," he said. He expects a single construction package contract for the project to be worth some RM2 billion.

"I'm hopeful and positive [about the road project] because it is a requirement and the government has indicated that this project will benefit the rakyat. Of course because we are partnering with a government-linked company, I think we stand a very good chance [to secure the contract]," Tengku Uzir added.

Besides the CSR, WZ Satu is currently tendering for civil works for RM2 billion worth of infrastructure projects, including the East Coast Rail Line (ECRL) and West Coast Expressway (WCE).

Tengku Uzir said the ECRL contract could be announced by this quarter.

Meanwhile, the company's current orderbook stands at RM936 million, which he said will support earnings to WZ Satu for about two years.

However, Tengku Uzir said 2018 will be 'tough and challenging' for the company, as construction margin will continue to be eroded, as well as because of the Bauxite export ban.

"We can see that for the last one to two years, there [have] been tremendous cost pressures on contractors. We still have to tender at the approximately same price because clients won't increase their price, so we have to absorb the increased costs," he said.

"[And] for the last seven months, we couldn't even export one tonne of bauxite. We have several hundred thousand tonnes of bauxite sitting at the port now, waiting to be exported," he said, adding there has been no reissuance of approved permits to export the material.