Ahmad Zaki undertakes RM171.5m contract for UTM

KUALA LUMPUR: Ahmad Zaki Resources Bhd (AZRB) will design and build an accommodation complex for Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) students in a contract worth RM171.5 million.

The three-year contract will be undertaken by AZRB's wholly owned subsidiary, Ahmad Zaki Resources Sdn Bhd, which will develop a 1.52ha tract within the UTM campus in Kuala Lumpur.

AZRB executive director Datuk Wan Zulkifli Wan Muda said the construction of the complex should commence on July 22.

“This contract will add to AZRB's order book of RM3.5 billion, which will last the group four to five years. We will be planning, designing and constructing the whole project," Zulkifli said at the signing ceremony yesterday.

The accommodation complex comprises four residential and commercial blocks, with 500 two-and three-room apartment units, and studio apartments.

It will have a four-level podium, of which two storeys will be used for commercial space. The complex will also have a 10-lane bowling alley and a rooftop swimming pool.

As the project is fully financed by the Employees Provident Fund, the costs will be paid back from rentals when the complex is fully occupied.

UTM acting vice-chancellor Dr Mohd Azraai Kassim said the payback period is seven years as the university expects more student enrolments in future.

Zulkifli said AZRB is currently bidding for projects worth RM800 million, which include ground infrastructure, buildings and roadworks.

He said the group's other ongoing construction projects are on track. It is now involved in the construction of MRT Packages V6 and S6 and the East Klang Valley Expressway, among others.

Zulkifli said construction remains the main contributor to group earnings followed by oil and gas and plantations.


This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on July 12, 2013.