Kum Shing Group – Advising Greater Bangkok’s electricity infrastructure upgrade

As part of Thailand’s plan to upgrade electricity and transport infrastructure across the country, Bangkok is moving forward to transform the city into a wireless metropolitan area. Internationally-recognised project management services and advanced expertise in electricity infrastructure replacement works are in keen demand for the project, which is spearheaded by Thailand’s Metropolitan Electricity Authority (MEA).

At the signing ceremony of the Third Belt and Road Summit jointly organized by the Hong Kong Government and the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) on June 28, 2018, Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand Dr Somkid Jatusripitak and HKTDC Chairman Dr Vincent Lo congratulated Hong Kong Energy Infrastructure Limited (HEI), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Kum Shing Group, on the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with MEA for "The Provision of Feasibility Study on Undergrounding Overhead Power Lines". This is the first time for a Hong Kong company to provide consulting services to a Thai state enterprise in the power and energy sector, and a milestone result of Kum Shing Group’s participation in the HKTDC-led Hong Kong-Shanghai joint infrastructure investment delegation to Thailand in May 2017, during which the company met with MEA and confirmed their partnership after rounds of discussion.

With over 55 years of experience, Kum Shing Group is Hong Kong's energy and mobility infrastructure specialist that provides engineering solutions to the city’s electricity supply system from power generation, transmission, distribution to utilization, assisting the local utilities in achieving a world-class supply reliability of 99.999%. Kum Shing Group possesses the experience and expertise to offer advisory services for Thailand’s MEA to manage its overhead line works and underground cable installation.

Mr Rex Wong, Executive Director and CEO of Kum Shing Group and Managing Director of HEI, said, "We appreciate the trust and confidence MEA has placed with us. We will utilize our engineering and management expertise to support the improvement and development of electricity system in the Greater Bangkok area."

The Thai Government has injected 51.7 billion Thai baht (approximately USD$1.58 billion) to the undergrounding project. Currently, 214.6 km of the MEA’s underground power transmission system project is under development on 39 roads in Bangkok, with completion slated for 2021. Kum Shing Group provides advisory services to MEA from technical design, application know-how, engineering expertise to resources deployment and stakeholder engagement planning. Not only does the project aim to beautify the streetscape, improve the neighbourhood environment and maximize land-use, but also enhance the electrical power distribution system to supply sufficient, stable and safe electricity for the city. Recently, Kum Shing Group has also offered stakeholder management consultancy services and training to MEA.

On the unique strengths of Hong Kong companies when participating in such projects, Wong said it is easier for Hong Kong, one of the world’s top-ranked cities in terms of reliability of electricity supply and transport network, to reach out to and gain the favour of the project owners and investors in the emerging markets of the neighbouring places who are looking for experienced and trusted consultancy to guide them through their local projects. Wong also advised the above-mentioned two types of people to get relevant consultancy and advisory services before jumping into investment to “ensure that the resources and time spent on the projects will not be wasted”.

For companies looking to tap into Belt and Road opportunities, Wong said companies should first focus on local projects before planning to venture overseas. “When you manage your local projects well and build up your organisation’s reputation, you’ll be better placed to find the right partners abroad and engage in a mutually trusting partnership.”

He believed that such collaboration with MEA will serve as a stepping stone for the Group to expand its business to the neighbouring regions, bringing its long-standing expertise and integrated technology and design solutions to other cities in the area to help meet the local demand for infrastructure development.