Project sale to help fuel Gunkul’s output aim
SET-listed Gunkul Engineering Plc has disposed of its Iwakuni solar power plant project in Japan by selling the entire investment in East Japan Solar 13 Godo Kaisha, valued at 2.86 billion baht, as it pursues other investments that promise a higher and faster rate of return.
Gunkul’s subsidiaries — Gunkul International (Mauritius) and Tokyo-based investment fund Future Asset Management KK — sold the project, currently in a preparatory phase, to GK Kaihatsu No.77 and ISH Kaihatsu No.77 last week, according to a report sent by the company to the Stock Exchange of Thailand yesterday.
Gunkul chief executive Sopacha Dhumrongpiyawut said the transaction will generate cash flow for the firm and enhance its ability to source capital for investment in development projects, which will lead to a goal of increasing production capacity to 1,000 megawatts within next two years.
The Iwakuni solar power plant project is located in lwakuni city, Yamaguchi province in southern Japan. The plant has a contracted capacity of 75MW from total installed capacity of 98MW. The project, scheduled to start operations in 2023, was granted a 20-year concession to sell electricity to the grid of Chogoku Electric Power Inc at a feed-in tariff of ¥32 per kilowatt hour (unit).
Following its sale of the project, Gunkul will record a profit of about 1.1 billion baht and will gain liquidity and leverage to be used for turnover and new solar power investment equivalent to 150MW.
“Gunkul has set a target to increase its power generation capacity to 1,000MW by 2022 from 621MW,” she said.
She said Gunkul will this year allocate capital spending worth 8-10 billion baht to achieve 2022’s one-gigawatt goal through renewable energy development in Thailand and across Asia.
In November 2020, Gunkul took over a solar farm in Vietnam at a cost of US$39.9 million, or 1.19 billion baht, from Vietnam-based Doan Son Thuy Investment JSC, the developer of a 50MW Phong Dien II Solar Power Plant in Hue in central Vietnam. Following its completion, it began operations on Dec 15, 2020. It will be connected to the state grid, Vietnam Electricity, under a power purchase agreement with a feed-in tariff of $0.0709 per unit for a 20 year period.
Source : bangkokpost
