Tap water supplier in Eastern region expects strong demand from EEC
UNIVERSAL Utilities Group, which supplies tap water in the Eastern region of Thailand, plans to invest an average of Bt200 million a year to develop water-treatment systems, especially in Chachoengsao, Rayong, and Chon Buri provinces, to serve expected strong demand from the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC).
The company is a subsidiary of Eastern Water Resources Development and Management.
Acting managing director Cherdchai Pitiwacharakul said in an interview yesterday that the company this year would invest Bt263 million.
He said that if the EEC project is a success, the demand for water in the area would be more than five times what it is now. Therefore, the company needs a business plan to serve the long-term demand growth by budgeting for investment costs of up to Bt200 million a year.
Meanwhile, the company is also studying the expansion of its business by investing in wastewater treatment systems, for which it might budget between Bt400 million and Bt500 million.
“If we decide to invest in wastewater treatment systems, we may apply to be a listed company in order to raise capital for our business expansion. That may happen around the end of this year or next year,” he said.
Currently, the company supplies water in Chachoengsao, Rayong and Chon Buri totalling 43 million cubic metres a year.
This year, water demand in the area has increased by 5 per cent, and the company has the production capacity to deal with this growth for now, he said.
The company targets revenue this year of Bt1.46 billion and net profit of Bt245 million up 9.49 per cent and 0.82 per cent from its revenue of Bt1.33 billion and net profit Bt243 million last year, Cherdchai said.
