Decmil wins $82.4m FMG contract

Engineering and construction company Decmil Group has won an $82.4 million contract to design and build a new 800-person accommodation village at Fortescue Metals Group's Christmas Creek operation in the Pilbara.

Decmil Group CEO Scott Criddle said "this latest contract further cements Decmil's position as the leading provider of accommodation villages to the WA resources and oil & gas industry."

"The Company's experience and reputation for designing and constructing large-scale accommodation villages has strengthened in the past two years and remains a core business focus for the Group going forward," Mr Criddle said.

The Christmas Creek village will accommodate the permanent workforce for FMG's mining operations and has been designed to provide 'a superior level of comfort and service in accommodation villages in Western Australia.'

The latest contract lifts DGL's forward order book to $408M million, of which $326 million is attributable to the 2010/2011 financial year.

Mr Criddle said Decmil has seen a step-change in resource companies' approach to the design of remote accommodation villages in recent years.

"Decmil Australia is now designing and constructing villages that resemble a resort, rather than a traditional workers camp with rows of accommodation," he said.

"It is clearly evident that resources companies are significantly increasing the design and standard of accommodation facilities offered to employees in line with the strong competition for labour."

The Christmas Creek village has been specifically designed to enable a cost effective and practical expansion to accommodate 1600 people.

The design clusters accommodation units in groups around a circular landscaped meeting and relaxing zone rather than in a grid. The village can be built in two phases with two 800-person camps centered around a shared services area.