Gamuda in solar tie-up with SD Guthrie

21 Aug 2025 | The Star

The two companies said the aim of the collaboration was to capitalise on the surging demand for RE from high-quality offtakers.

Petaling Jaya: Fresh from bagging a renewable energy (RE) project Down Under in Tasmania last month, construction titan Gamuda Bhd has kept up the momentum by entering into a collaboration agreement with SD Guthrie Bhd to develop, own and operate solar power assets, including energy storage systems, with an accumulated target capacity of 1.2GW.

Investors familiar with Gamuda will remember that the Tasmania contract win had grabbed headlines in July when it catapulted the group’s share price to eventually touching a historical high of RM5.79 on Aug 19, although it has come off that record in recent days.

The stock closed eight sen lower yesterday, settling at RM5.62.

Having been on a purple patch in the past couple of years after notching up several contract wins, the company, via its wholly owned subsidiary Gamuda Energy Sdn Bhd, yesterday inked a project that will allow it to leverage SD Guthrie’s vast and strategically located land bank across Malaysia.

In return, Gamuda Energy will provide its experience and technical expertise gained from delivering 3GW pipeline of RE projects throughout the Asia-Pacific region.

In a joint press statement, the two companies said the aim of the collaboration was to capitalise on the surging demand for RE from high-quality offtakers, offering fast-tracked scalable RE supply, which they said would “be critical to meet the sustainability objectives of industrial and data centre players in Malaysia”.

Given the background of recent developments in the RE sector, executive director at Gamuda Engineering Sdn Bhd, Faris Mohd Yusof, pointed out that the group was focused on growing its RE infrastructure portfolio, particularly in Malaysia and Australia, across different renewable asset classes.

These include solar, wind, hydro (which also encompasses pumped hydro), battery energy storage systems and transmission projects with collectively over 3GW of renewables in various stages of deployment.

“Our expertise in delivering utility-scale solar farms – ranging from over 100MW projects in Malaysia to significantly larger projects abroad – combined with our exclusive partnership with SD Guthrie, which holds the largest nationwide landbank for RE deployment, uniquely positions our joint-venture (JV) to provide renewable energy solutions at scale for our multinational partners,” he said.

Furthermore, Faris said Gamuda’s end-to-end delivery will be supplemented by its strategic stake in ERS Energy Sdn Bhd, which possesses a strong solar engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning or EPCC track record across the Philippines, Vietnam, Singapore, Australia and Malaysia.

Notably, when asked if there were specific sizes for the plots of land that would be utilised for the purpose of the JV, Gamuda told StarBiz that they were still in the planning and discussion stage, and would clarify any further development updates in due course.

At the same time, group managing director at SD Guthrie, Datuk Mohamad Helmy Othman Basha, revealed that RE was one of two new business verticals that SD Guthrie had identified as a growing pillar of the company’s future.

“It is critical, both as a new and sustainable revenue stream and for our net-zero target. On a national scale, it will help to advance Malaysia’s efforts to decarbonise its electricity sector,” he added.

With Gamuda, Mohamad Helmy said SD Guthrie was continuing its strategy of partnering with established and experienced players to provide a strategic pathway for the group to accelerate its expansion into such new verticals.

In addition, with SD Guthrie’s first 15MW Corporate Green Power Programme solar plant in Bukit Selarong in Kedah, targeted to begin operations in the fourth quarter of 2025, Mohamad Helmy recognised this latest partnership with the constructor as an opportunity to create value by meeting RE demand from both public and private sector users under frameworks such as the Corporate Renewable Energy Supply Scheme.

“The solar assets will further enhance the long-term value of SD Guthrie’s land portfolio,” he added.

The JV agreement between Gamuda and SD Guthrie is a continuation of the former’s RE initiatives, as the group had in October last year secured a contract from Upper Padas Power Sdn Bhd (UPPSB) to serve as the total development contractor or TDC for the 187.5MW Ulu Padas Hydroelectric Project in Tenom and Sipitang Sabah, in partnership with Conlay Construction Sdn Bhd.

Gamuda has an indirect interest of 45% in UPPSB via UPP Holdings Sdn Bhd.

The project, estimated to cost approximately RM4bil, includes the design, construction, testing and commissioning of a 187.5MW hydroelectric plant involving a roller-compacted concrete dam, a main and secondary powerhouse, water conveyance system, project access and other permanent facilities.

These include a 275kV switchyard, 33kV sub-transmission line, workshop, stores and operation facilities, and a residential village.

Gamuda had mentioned that the Ulu Padas project, once completed – scheduled to be on or before Dec 31, 2030 – is expected to generate an average of 1,052GWh of clean energy annually, increasing Sabah’s current dependable capacity by around 15%.

It will also double the RE mix, supporting the state’s goal of achieving approximately 35% RE share in its generation mix by 2035.

Gamuda anticipates that the total development project would contribute positively to its revenue and earnings for the financial year ending July 31, 2025 onwards until the completion of the contract.