KUALA LUMPUR: Shares in Widad Group Bhd rose in active trade in early trade Thursday after securing a construction contract worth RM244.3mil.

       The counter rose 3.9%, or 1.5 sen to 40 sen, its highest in about two months at 9.13am. It is one of the most actively traded counters with 23 million shares done. Widad-WA gained 5%, or one sen to 21 sen with 1.5 million shares traded.

       Widad said its wholly-owned subsidiary Widad Builders Sdn Bhd (WBSB) has accepted a letter of award from the Malaysian Public Works Department (JKR) for a RM244.3mil project to build Package 3C of the Kota Bharu–Kuala Krai Expressway (KBKK).

       The contract period is for 36 months commencing from Dec 27, 2021 to Dec 26, 2024.

       The project is expected to be funded via internally generated funds and/or external borrowings, Widad said.

       To date Widad has secured contracts totalling RM545.7mil in 2021, bringing the group’s outstanding order book to approximately RM1.74bil.