PETALING JAYA: The Gamuda Bhd
and John Holland Pty Ltd joint venture has been awarded a A$1.03bil (RM3.03bil) design and construct job for the M1 Motorway extension to Raymond Terrace: Black Hill to Tomago Works, by Transport for New South Wales (NSW), Australia.
Based on the 60:40 (John Holland/Gamuda) respective revenue sharing deal, Gamuda’s revenue portion would be A$411mil (RM1.21bil).
In a Bursa Malaysia filing, Gamuda said the job involved 10km of greenfield dual carriageway motorway between the M1 Motorway at Beresfield and Tomago.
It will also involve major interchanges at Black Hill, Tarro and Tomago, and the construction of nine bridges including a 2.6-km viaduct across the Hunter River and flood plain.
Gamuda added that planning and detailed design would start immediately, with site investigations and utilities work in mid-2023.
“The project is expected to contribute positively to the revenue and earnings of Gamuda for the financial year ending July 31, 2023 (FY23),” said the group.
John Holland is one of Australia’s leading building, infrastructure, rail and transport companies.
John Holland’s parent company, CCCI, is a wholly owned subsidiary of China Communications Construction Company Ltd (CCCC), one of the world’s largest infrastructure and engineering companies.
Meanwhile, Seymour Whyte Constructions will build the 5km northern section that bypasses Heatherbrae (for the new M1 Pacific Motorway extension to Raymond Terrace).
A statement by Transport for NSW said the project is being delivered using two collaborative design and construct contracts to ensure innovation, efficiency and value for money in bringing this extension to life.
The Australian and NSW governments are jointly funding the A$2.1bil (RM6.27bil) M1 Pacific Motorway Extension to Raymond Terrace project on an 80:20 basis.
The extension is expected to be open to traffic in mid-2028.
Meanwhile, in a recent report, TA Research said following the disposal of the toll business, Gamuda is now left with two engines of growth – the construction and property divisions.
“With a record high outstanding order book and strong property unbilled sales, we expect the group to continue posting decent earnings performance in the upcoming quarters,” said the research unit.
As of end-October 2022, Gamuda’s outstanding construction order book improved from RM14bil a quarter ago to another record high of RM14.8bil.
“The strong outstanding order book can provide earning visibility up to FY27.
“The overseas projects accounted for 78.4% of the outstanding order book,” said TA Research.
Meanwhile, Gamuda’s management maintains its ambitious new job win target of a total of RM25bil over the next two years.
On the domestic front, despite the recent change in the new government, the group is confident that both the Mass Rapid Transit 3 or MRT3 and Penang South Islands projects will proceed eventually.
For the overseas market, Australia is expected to be a major source of order book over the next decade.
Also, the group intends to increase its exposure to green infrastructure investment.
“A RM2bil budget has already been allocated for investment in this space over the next five years.
“In addition, the group has started to look for renewable energy opportunities in oversea markets,” said the research unit.
As for Gamuda’s property division, it recorded a 43% year-on-year drop in sales to RM480mil in the first quarter of FY23.
This was because the top-selling projects such as OLA and Celadon City were almost fully sold.
“The management remains confident that the property division can hit the sales target of RM4.5bil for FY23.
“This is thanks to newer projects,” said TA Research.
Unbilled property sales eased slightly from RM6.2bil a quarter ago to RM5.8bil.
