Albemarle awards Compass $70m contract

Albemarle Corporation has appointed Compass Group to operate its $140 million Paris Grove workers village in Australind, awarding a contract worth $70 million.

The contract covers onsite catering, accommodation, cleaning, security, health and lifestyle, grounds services and facilities management at the US lithium giant’s workforce accommodation precinct near Bunbury.

The Paris Grove village is under construction and is expected to provide accommodation for up to 800 people working on the $2 billion expansion of Albemarle’s Kemerton Lithium Hydroxide Processing Plant.

In a statement, Albemarle said the contract to Compass Group was valued just under $71 million and would span three years with possible extensions.

Compass Group’s ESS Support Services Worldwide arm is responsible for the contract works with local employment to be sought, Albemarle’s statement said.

Albemarle’s Paris Grove operations manager Grant Barrow said the village was being developed as a long term accommodation precinct to support the expansion.

“Paris Grove will be a modern, high quality and purpose-built village accommodating around 800 rostered workers and taking pressure off existing rentals and short term accommodation in the South West,” he said.

“A local leading interior designer has also been working on the village dining area to be a harmonious backdrop to what will be diverse and rotating high quality menu, prepared in a state-of-the-art commercial grade kitchen.

“Recreation facilities and personalised and group health and wellbeing programs, including fitness activities will be very important and Albemarle is working closely with Compass Group on a range of measures to support psychosocial health at Paris Grove.”

Albemarle Capital Projects Australia vice president Josh Rowan said the Compass Group award was one of the biggest contracts from Albemarle and the first workforce accommodation contract awarded by the company in Australia.

“We are Australia’s largest producer and manufacturer of lithium and our Kemerton plant is about to get a whole lot bigger,” he said.

“Construction of trains 3 and 4 is set to create over 1000 new jobs across all of our major contractors and Albemarle has recently launched an intensive three-month recruitment drive in support of our major Kemerton contractors.

“We are particularly pleased that Compass Group is seeking to employ as many local people as possible to run and manage Paris Grove with the variety and flexibility of roles set to be very attractive to local job seekers.”

The Paris Grove village is being built by Grounded Construction Group.