Gabungan AQRS eyes MRT Line 2

By ZUNAIRA SAIEED

It will bank on its experience in MRT Line 1 job worth RM391mi

Azizan: ‘We are not like other construction companies that are hunting for projects, but we want to leverage on creating value and opportunities.’

KUALA LUMPUR: Property-and-construction outfit Gabungan AQRS Bhd is aiming to clinch a contract from the upcoming Klang Valley Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) Line 2.

The company is working on the viaduct guideway and other related works of the Sungai Buloh to Kota Damansara segment of MRT Line 1 worth RM391mil.

The company has an orderbook of RM1bil.

Executive director Datuk Azizan Jaafar said at a media briefing that a single package for Line 2 is expected to be worth between RM1.4bil and RM1.5bil.

The new line of the railway project offers 10 main packages compared with eight in the first line.

“We are very optimistic of getting the package, given the experience that we have garnered from the construction of the MRT,” Azizan said.

However, he said the bid for a Line 2 contract would be “price-dependent”, as the company had to ensure that it was profitable.

“We certainly do not want a price that would serve as a disadvantage. We want the job, but we also want it be cost-effective,” Azizan said, adding that profit margins were more important than a larger order book.

“We are not like other construction companies that are hunting for projects, but we want to leverage on creating value and opportunities,” he said.

Azizan is confident that the company would be successful in winning the bid for a Line 2 contract. Results from the bids will be announced in October.

“If we are successful, the construction of Line 2 will start in December or early next year, whereby the earnings contribution will be reflected in the financial year ending Dec 31, 2016,” Azizan said.

Meanwhile, executive director for corporate and investments Alex Lam told StarBiz that the company would use a combination of its own funding and bank borrowings for the Line 2 project.

Azizan also said that the joint-venture mixed-development project with Suria Capital Holdings Bhd known as One Jesselton Waterfront will start construction by early next year.

Chief executive officer Alvin Ng Chun Kooi said the company was looking towards a “sustainable business model” with recurring income from its properties to sustain its profitability. “We are lucky that the company’s various projects worth RM3.39bil is expected to sustain the company for the next six years,” Azizan added.

We are not like other construction companies that are hunting for projects, but we want to leverage on creating value and opportunities.’

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