Malaysian Manufacturing Giant to Invest £25 Million in UK Sustainable Infrastructure

KNM Group Berhad, the Malaysian manufacturing giant, have announced the signing of an agreement with Poplar Holdings Limited for the exclusive rights to conclude the acquisition of the entire paid-up capital of its subsidiary, Poplar Investments Limited, owners of the land earmarked for the development of EnergyPark Peterborough in the East of England.

The agreement, which envisages parties sealing the deal in February 2012, will see KNM take ownership of the EnergyPark site, which is consented for the UK’s first 80MWe biomass from waste to power station. KNM had earlier signed a deal worth £450 million with the developers, Green Energy Parks’ (GEP) subsidiary, Peterborough Renewable Energy Ltd in 2010 for the engineering, procurement and construction of the waste to power station.

KNM and GEP will now move forward together under an SPV, Energy Park Investment Ltd which will be jointly owned to realise this ground-breaking project, which was granted consent by the Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) in November 2009. Once operational, the plant will draw upon a mix of best available technologies to achieve maximum diversion of waste from landfill and create renewable energy and recycled products at the same time.

Working closely with the technical team at GEP, the deal will pave the way for KNM to begin construction on the site in the near future.

Commenting on the proposed investment, Managing Director of Green Energy Parks, Chris Williams said:

“In KNM Group Berhad we have found a partner who shares our ethos, drive and ambition to deliver a landfill free future.

“Together, we look forward to breaking ground and getting the construction phase under way.”

Announcing the deal, KNM Group Berhad Executive Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, Ir. Lee Swee Eng added:

“This is a ground-breaking project which will mark an important development in the way that waste is dealt with in the UK and we are incredibly excited at the prospect of having a partnership with Green Energy Parks, which forms a significant part of our drive into the renewable and clean energy sector.