Ratch Group earmarks 35 billion baht for business expansion

Thailand’s leading private power producer, Ratch Group Plc, remains steadfast in its decision to allocate a capital expenditure of 35 billion baht for the expansion of its operations in both the power and non-power sectors this year.

Chief Executive Choosri Kietkajornkul said that out of this capital allocation, 29 billion baht is for investments in power generation. She further revealed that the company had already invested 651 million baht in this segment in the first half of the year.

She also outlined that the remaining 6 billion baht of the budget is allocated for the non-power sector. She added that as of June this year, the company has already deployed 301 million baht.

Investments in the power generation segment will be channelled into several projects, including the 31.2-megawatt gas-fired Ratch Co-generation (RCO) plant, the 15MW Eco Wind power project, and the massive 741MW coal-fired Paiton thermal power plant. While RCO is already operational, the other projects are pegged to kick off operations in the second half of the year.

Currently, Ratch operates power plants with a combined capacity of a whopping 7,873MW. The company has 17 committed development projects in both power generation and non-power sectors.

From 2024 to 2033, Ratch plans to develop 15 power plants, with an annual budget of 15 billion baht allocated for this purpose, shared Choosri.

The non-power business of Ratch includes operating the Yellow and Pink monorail lines in Bangkok, two motorways connecting Bangkok to Nakhon Ratchasima and Bangkok to Kanchanaburi, along with running a biomass production facility in Laos and investing in Prince Hospital in Sakon Nakhon province.

The company also plans to invest an annual 3 billion baht in this segment over the next decade. Choosri mentioned that they expect numerous ongoing project negotiations to conclude in the near future.

Choosri also highlighted the company’s strategic expansion towards hydrogen fuel. She concluded that the company is setting up a pilot plant for green hydrogen production and also planning to export hydrogen to East Asia, where there is strong interest in adopting new clean energy, reports Bangkok Post.

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