KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 4): Ibraco Bhd, through its wholly-owned unit Ibraco Construction Sdn Bhd (ICSP), has partnered with two units of China Railway Group Ltd to incorporate Ibraco CREC JV Sdn Bhd (ICJVSB), a joint venture company to undertake infrastructure works for the Kuching Urban Transportation System (KUTS).

In a bourse filing on Thursday, the property developer said that the joint venture company was set up with China Railway Engineering Corporation (M) Sdn Bhd (CRECM) and Nanyang Tunnel Engineering Sdn Bhd.

The JV company has an initial paid-up capital of RM2 million, comprising 2 million shares, with ICSP holding a 51% stake, CRECM with 39% and Nanyang with 10%.

Ibraco said that the incorporation of the JV is specifically for the construction and completion of infrastructure works for Blue Line-Package 1 from Rembus to Stutong for the KUTS project.

On Nov 10, 2023, ICSB, together with CRECM and Nanyang Tunnel Engineering, secured the tender for the package from KUTS project implementer Sarawak Metro Sdn Bhd (SMSB), which is worth RM568.81 million.

The project is expected to be completed by Dec 31, 2025, for Stage 1 and June 30, 2026, for Stage 1A. Ibraco noted that the project would be funded through internally-generated funds and external borrowings.

For the cumulative nine months ending Sept 30, 2023, Ibraco's net profit more than doubled to RM36.14 million from RM16.38 million as revenue climbed 51.1% to RM286.45 million from RM189.58 million the previous year.

As at the end of September 2023, the group had RM276.86 million in unbilled sales and an outstanding order book of RM1.47 billion.

Ibraco closed up six sen or 6.94% at 92 sen on Friday with a market value of RM505.09 million. Since June 30, the stock has risen by 70.5%.