John Holland wins Tas NBN fibre install contract

Stuart Corner
Friday, 11 December 2009 07:01

IT Industry - Strategy

John Holland has been awarded a contract to install fibre optic cable for stage 1 the Tasmanian NBN along the east coast and north-west of Tasmania.

The contract was awarded by Aurora Energy Pty Ltd on behalf of NBN Tasmania and requires John Holland to install the cables that will form the backbone of the broadband network between Port Latta and Smithton on Tasmania's north-west coast, Georgetown on the north coast and St. Helens on the east coast, and the Hobart suburb of Midway Point and the lower east coast town of Triabunna.

NBN Tasmania executive chairman, Doug Campbell, said that John Holland would be working with a number of local Tasmanian suppliers, "ensuring the roll-out of NBN Tasmania's high-speed broadband network continues to generate investment and job opportunities for the communities it will serve." However, none of these have been identified. Work will commences this month and is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2010. Terms of the contract were not disclosed.

Tasmanian NBN Co has already announced contracts with Corning Cable Systems for the supply of optic fibre cable and in September with John Holland and Marias-Lucas, Technologies a JV formed in 2008 between ASX listed Lucas Group and French company Groupe Marais SA "to introduce Marais' innovative one-pass, mechanised trenchless technology for installing telecommunications and energy networks to Australia." These contracts were for a short seven kilometre fibre optic link between Aurora Energy's Cambridge data centre and Midway Point.

Tasmanian NBN Co has also set up a page on the Industry Capability Gateway portal www.nbn.icn.org.au where it is looking for services providers that can offer cable installation (above and below ground), horizontal directional drilling, electrical installation (overhead and underground), qualified underground asset locators, civil contractors (ground works), trenching, telecommunications technicians, fibre optic splicer's/jointers and labour hire.