SET-listed WHA Utilities and Power (WHAUP), which provides utilities under WHA Corp, Thailand's biggest industrial land developer and operator, aims to achieve a revenue target of 27 billion baht within five years, driven by its growing water and energy businesses in Thailand and Vietnam.
The amount, to be earned from 2023 to 2027, is partly based on the company's strong performance last year when tap water sales and water management services stood at 145 million cubic metres in volume and power generation capacity was 683 megawatts.
Among its energy businesses was the installation of rooftop solar panels, with electricity generation capacity of 7.7MW, on an area of 32,200 square metres of a carpark of Ford Motor (Thailand) in WHA Eastern Seaboard Industrial Estate 1 in Rayong.
The company will also allocate 18.5 billion baht in investment budget to further grow businesses in the next five years, said Somkiat Masunthasuwun, chief executive of WHAUP.
Mr Somkiat expects total water sales and water management services in 2023 to increase to 168 million cubic metres, up from 145 million cu m last year.
Most of the amount (135 million cu m) will come from WHAUP's water businesses in Thailand.
The increase follows higher demand from factories.
WHAUP is preparing to build a new wastewater treatment facility, with capacity of 5.8 million cu m a year, at WHA Industrial Estate Rayong within this month, he said.
The company already ran the commercial operation of a wastewater treatment system, with capacity of 3.3 million cu m annually, at WHA Rayong 36 Industrial Estate.
In Vietnam, Mr Somkiat expects water sales to increase to 33 million cu m this year, up from 28 million cu m in 2022, due to the expansion of customer base as well as more service areas of tap water supply.
In the power sector, WHAUP will continue to expand its sales, including electricity from renewable sources such as solar and industrial waste, in Thailand and Vietnam.
Mr Somkiat said the company aims to increase electricity sales under power purchase agreements in the renewable energy segment to 300MW this year, up from 136MW in 2022.
WHAUP also focuses on the development of new energy solutions by joining hands with national oil and gas conglomerate PTT Plc and Sertis Co to jointly develop a peer-to-peer energy trading platform, with blockchain technology to ensure secure transactions.
Named "Renewable Energy Exchange", the platform facilitates solar power trading among 54 factories in WHA-run industrial estates.