KUALA LUMPUR: Ranhill Utilities Bhd has secured two non-revenue water (NRW) reduction contracts worth RM161mil.

       In a filing with Bursa Malaysia yesterday, the group said that on Monday, its indirect wholly-owned subsidiary Ranhill Water Services Sdn Bhd (RWS) has accepted a letter of award for a RM156.76mil contract in Johor for two years.

       RWS has also received a RM4.5mil letter of award from Jejak Teknologi Sdn Bhd for a sub-contract involving the national NRW approach 1 of Pahang-Package 1.

       For the Johor job, the key performance indicator-based contract with specific NRW reduction targets was awarded by Ranhill SAJ Sdn Bhd, an 80%-owned subsidiary of Ranhill, through a competitive open tender process.

       The Johor project is part of Ranhill SAJ’s operating expenditure and will be fully funded by Ranhill SAJ.

       The job, to be completed by Dec 31, 2023, is the sixth successive NRW project in Johor secured by RWS through competitive open tender since 2011.

       The project is a recurrent related-party transaction and has obtained the shareholders’ mandate at the company’s AGM on June 28, 2021.

       Ranhill Utilities pointed out that RWS has reduced NRW in Johor from over 37% in 2005 to 24.88% as at Nov 30, 2021.

       Apart from Johor, RWS has secured NRW reduction projects through competitive bidding in Melaka, Kedah, Kelantan, Terengganu, Perlis and Pahang.

       The Pahang project starts on Jan 5, 2022 and is to be completed by Sept 5, 2022. It is part of the federal government’s initiative to assist water operators in reducing their NRW losses.

       Both projects will contribute positively to the earnings of RWS and Ranhill Utilities for the financial years ending Dec 31, 2022 (FY22) and FY23.

       Ranhill Utilities said these projects further solidify RWS’ reputation as a leader in holistic water network management, specifically in the NRW reduction sector.