Contract a $117m win for Kordia

Kordia has won a $117 million contract to provide a communications network for the massive $29 billion APLNG (Australia Pacific Liquefied Natural Gas) coal seam gas project in Queensland.

The two-year project will see the state-owned enterprise build a fixed and wireless network spanning 100,000 square kilometres.

APLNG is a partnership between Origin Energy, ConocoPhillips and China Petrochemical Corp. They gave final approval for the energy project last month.

The deal is significant in terms of Kordia's overall revenues, which totalled $294.5m in the year to June 2011.

Kordia said it would design and build a private network incorporating a microwave backbone, mobile voice, broadband wireless, PABXs, radio telemetry and local and wide area networks across the "largely greenfield lease area" with links back to a control centre in Brisbane.

"Kordia is looking forward to extending our extensive infrastructure experience in the telecommunications sector into a resources industry looking for innovation and best of breed solutions," said Kordia Solution Australia managing director Peter Robson in a statement.

The company said earlier this month that it was experiencing significant growth in Australia and was looking at "funding opportunities" to sustain its growth there, sparking speculation - denied by Kordia - that it might be for sale.

- © Fairfax NZ News