Contracting group NRW Holdings been selected to provide earthworks for rail infrastructure at the $10 billion Roy Hill iron ore development in the Pilbara.
NRW announced today it had received a letter of intent from Samsung C&T Corporation, the lead contractor for the Roy Hill mine, to provide the earthworks.
While the contract has not yet been finalised, NRW has been authorised to commence works on the project.
The works are capped at $20 million.
The contract award comes a day after the Roy Hill project’s director said the mine was on track to achieve first production in the third quarter of 2015, despite a comprehensive debt financing deal having yet to be finalised.
The debt funding remains conditional on Roy Hill securing an enterprise migration agreement with the federal government to provide a guarantee for the lenders, which would supply up to $7 billion in project finance.
NRW Holdings shares were up 5.5 per cent on the ASX at 11:40AM, trading at $1.35.
Meanwhile, contractor Forge Group has announced it is deep in negotiations with Samsung C&T regarding an estimated $1.6 billion procurement and construction deal at Roy Hill, but a formal contract had not been finalised, contrary to media reports.
Forge said the tendering process was ongoing and remained competitive.
