Civil infrastructure and building company Decmil Group has announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary Decmil Australia has been awarded a contract for the construction of an airstrip and associated facilities at Fortescue Metal’s Christmas Creek.
The approximately $30 million project is part of Fortescue’s Chichester hub expansion in the Pilbara.
The Chichester hub hosts both its Cloudbreak and Christmas Creek mines, which together produce 55 million tonnes per annum and are targeting an increase to 90 million tonnes per annum in 2014.
The project is due to commence in January 2012 and will include design, approvals, procurement, construction and commissioning of a CASA compliant airport facility.
Decmil chief executive officer Scott Criddle said Decmil has a demonstrated record in civil construction and has focused on expanding its civil capability throughout the past year.
“The award of this contract aligns with Decmil’s strategic growth plan to expand its civil contracting offering into the infrastructure sector,” he said.
As part of this diversification strategy Decmil Australia is targeting the pipeline of civil works contract opportunities for airport, road construction and water projects, associated with the resources and oil & gas sectors, Mr Criddle said.
“In forward planning for the strong uplift in award of contracts as major projects are granted approvals, Decmil Australia has actively recruited for key roles including in project management and invested in building the breadth and depth of skills sets and capabilities across our workforce."
Earlier this year Decmil completed work at Karntama Village at Christmas Creek, constructing an $81 million 800-person village to accommodate Fortescue’s workforce.
In March Decmil won the $55 million contract for phase two of the project, the building of a second 800-man camp at the village. The camp was completed ahead of schedule.
Decmil shares are down three cents from closing yesterday, currently trading at $2.24.
