VICTORIAN telcommunications player Silk Telecom is set to buy Western Power’s telecommunications arm, Bright Telecommunications. The state government approved the sale after a comprehensive process that began in July. Western Power said the sale would allow it to concentrate fully on its core business – the delivery of reliable electricity to the people of Western Australia. Silk Telecom was formed in 2005 and operated an extensive telecommunications network, next-generation data services and an optical fibre network with infrastructure throughout the eastern states. The company has indicated that all Bright Telecommunications staff would be transferred to positions with Silk. Eden to fuel Indian buses PERTH-BASED alternative energy supplier, Eden Energy Ltd, will sell its hydrogen-enriched natural gas blend to Indian bus manufacturer, Chennai-based Ashok Leyland. Under the agreement announced last week Eden, through its 100 per cent owned subsidiary Brehon Energy PLC, will recalibrate the Indian engines at its test facilities in Colorado, to enable the use of its Hythane fuel. Eden said the engines would then be installed for testing and demonstration purposes throughout 2007. Eden Energy chair Greg Solomon described the deal in an announcement as a breakthrough for the company. Eden/Brehon now planned to seek to establish a joint venture with a major Indian partner to manage the rollout of Hythane in India. Ashok, the Indian arm of London’s Hinduja Group, manufactures more than 80,000 vehicles per year. $174m for AMC THE state government will spend $174 million on an infrastructure upgrade at the Australian Marine Complex in Henderson, with the centrepiece being the construction a floating dock. The project also includes a new transfer system, dredging of a 17-metre-deep basin to accommodate the floating dock, an extension of the existing eastern wharf, site works and electricity upgrades – all which are expected to create up to 3,000 jobs over the next 10 years. The state believes the 100-metre floating dock will inject $3 billion into Western Australian economy over 25 years from naval contracts, as well as up to $175 million a year in other projects. Premier Alan Carpenter said companies such as ASC Pty Ltd had made long-term commitments to the AMC, investing $35 million in maintenance and upgrade facilities at the facility.
