KUALA LUMPUR (March 31): Kumpulan Powernet Bhd (KPower) has been awarded a RM354 million deal to construct five mini hydropower plants in Perak with a total capacity of 32.47 megawatts.

It was awarded by Kangsar Hidro Sdn Bhd, which is 15% owned by Perak state-owned Yayasan Perak and 85% owned by Kangsar Capital Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of OHP Ventures Sdn Bhd.

In a filing to Bursa Malaysia, KPower said the award was constituted as recurrent related party transaction (RRPT) due to the relationship between its directors and Kangsar Hidro.

In particular, KPower’s deputy chairman and group managing director Mustakim Mat Nun and group chief financial officer Amirul Afif Abd Aziz were deemed interested parties as both of them hold directorships and major stakes in OHP Ventures.

It was previously reported that Mustakim and Amirul own stakes of 51% and 30% respectively in OHP Group.

KPower had last November received its shareholders' approval to enter into the RRPT that was deemed necessary for its day-to-day operations and to support its order book growth.

In today’s filing, KPower said the company and Kangsar Hidro will enter into a definitive agreement within 60 business days.

“The technical requirements of Tenaga Nasional Bhd on the interconnection facilities, specifications and/or drawings relating to the project shall be included in the definitive agreement,” it added.

The scope of work of the award includes preliminary study, engineering, construction, supervision, testing, commission, reliability test, defect remediation and provision of all equipment relating to the project.

The target completion date for the project is within 48 months from the commencement date or before Dec 24, 2024.

At 4pm, KPower was up 24 sen or 17.6% at RM1.60, with 4.58 million shares traded.

The counter was in the limelight in 2019, with its share price rising exponentially from 37.5 sen at the beginning of the year to RM1.44 at year-end.

It went on to reach an all-time high of RM3.11 in mid-February 2020 on an optimistic outlook for its orderbook.

However, the counter was then trashed down a whopping 72% to 85.5 sen amid a broad market weakness in mid-March, exhibiting excessive volatility in its share price action.