WHA poised for 25% revenue growth

It will also invest Bt6.6 billion this year on business expansion as part of its Bt43 billion five-year investment plan ending in 2020.
Among its 2017 key business achievements, WHA Group secured an additional 161,500 square metres of pre-leased space and new contracts for built-to-suit (BTS) facilities.
Its business approach is based, said WHA Group’s CEO Jareeporn Jarukornsakul, “on our clear vision and comprehensive analysis of market conditions”.
 Since its inception, WHA Group has shown its commitment to support the government-sponsored Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) initiative, she said. WHA’s Logistics can serve the EEC with its logistics and industrial properties in Chonburi and Rayong, amounting to approximately 800,000 square metres (sq m).
Out of its nine WHA-Hemaraj industrial estates now in operation, eight are located in the EEC, with another two under development. Combined, they total more than 45,000 rai (7,200 hectares) of industrial land, with approximately 10,000 rai of sellable land. 
Last November, the EEC management committee designated Hemaraj Eastern Seaboard Industrial Estate 4 (HESIE 4), covering 1,400 rai in Rayong province, as a “special industrial zone” for aviation and logistics, robotics and next-generation automotive – underlining WHA Group’s commitment to support the development of S-Curve industries. 
The Group’s logistics hub is planning to increase its leasable area by more than 11 per cent in 2018, from 2,151,000 sq m to 2,391,000 sq m, while focusing on high-value clusters such as aviation and robotics and high-value rental properties in line with the development of e-commerce. 
International expansion will continue in Asean countries, including Indonesia, Vietnam, Myanmar, Malaysia and Cambodia. In Indonesia, where domestic-oriented industries offer a huge potential, WHA Logistics provides 25,688 sq m in built-to-suit facilities in Banten, West Jakarta.
In 2018, WHA Industrial Development is planning to operate 10 industrial estates in Thailand and one in Vietnam, representing a total of 39,300 rai. The land-sales target is at 1,400 rai, from 1,000 rai in 2017, with a “land bank” representing over 10,000 rai available for sale.
In Vietnam, the group will continue to develop WHA Hemaraj Industrial Zone Nghe An, with Phase One representing approximately 3,110 rai out of the project’s total area of 20,000 rai. 
WHA Utilities and Power (WHAUP) will further explore the CLMV markets and will add more products, such as reclaimed water, demineralised water and desalination. With a forecast sales and management volume of 113 million cubic metres in 2018, a 13 per cent increase compared to 2017 due to higher demand from current and new customers, plus higher consumption from power plants that recently started operations, WHAUP will remain the largest private utilities operator in Thailand.
In the power sector, WHAUP is now invested in 15 power projects (14 in Thailand and one in Laos) with a total contracted capacity of 2,540 megawatts (MW) by 2019, including 543 in equity MW.
As of 2017, 11 projects were in operation with 478 equity MW (for a contracted capacity of 2,287MW), including three independent power producers (IPPs) in partnership with Glow, six small power producers (SPPs) in partnership with B Grimm (one powerplant at HCIE), Gulf JP (one power plant at HRIL), and Gulf MP (four powerplants at ESIE and HESIE), and two very small power producers (VSPPs) for solar projects in partnership with Gulf and Gunkul.
There are four projects under construction with 65 equity MW (for a contracted capacity of 253MW) which are expected to commence operations in 2018 and 2019, including two SPP projects in partnership with Gulf MP, one VSPP solar project and one VSPP waste-to-energy project in partnership with Glow and Suez through a joint venture with Chonburi Clean Energy (CCE).
In addition to conventional power from coal, hydro and gas co-generation, WHAUP will further develop alternative energies such as solar and waste-to-energy projects.