A workforce of up to 70 will mobilise to the site this week to start the concrete construction works, together with detailed earthworks, formwork and reinforcement.

An estimated 5400m3 of structural concrete will be laid by the Perth-based Whittens, utilising 650 tonnes of steel reinforcement.

Director Clayton Whitten said the company had worked hard to build its solid reputation for service delivery. Winning the contract provided a strong platform from which to leverage the company’s position within the NSW/Queensland coal markets.

“The NSW market is traditionally quite competitive with local contractors best positioned for such projects, so it has been a strategic success for Whittens to have secured such a critical project in the coal handling space.”

“We have successfully worked with the Thiess Sedgman JV in the past and this is a welcomed continuation of our relationship.”

Since forming in 2001, Whittens has grown from a family based business into one of the Australian resources sector’s leading civil concrete construction companies.

The company’s large team of in-house concrete construction specialists upholds a history of major, remote area concrete construction works including over 60,000 m3 at the Sino Iron Project located at Cape Preston in Western Australia and 30,000m3 for BGC at the Pluto LNG plant northwest of Karratha.

Whittens has most recently completed works on Fortescue Metals Group Ltd’s Solomon project and has current projects operating in the Karratha region of Western Australia, Darwin and Queensland.

“We maintain a policy of employing in-house staff and owning our plant equipment, so we are able to deploy our teams quickly and hit the ground running,” Whitten said.

“This unique aspect of our business has helped us maintain our strength and position as a trusted business throughout the global downturn and as such, we are expecting to announce further major contracts before the end of 2013.”