Ausenco hot in Chile

Ausenco CEO Zimi Meka, says the contract follows previous work on the US$1.9 billion Esperanza copper project in the region of Antofagasta. Other contracts are expected in the coming months.

“They are repeat clients we’ve been working with in excess of five years and on this particular project we’ve worked on the feasibility project through to engineering services and now construction management,” says Meka.

“We’ve got a number of projects in Chile and Peru that are not dissimilar to this one, and they should come to fruition in the next two to three months.

“South America represents 25 per cent of the company’s revenue, so that’s a substantial amount. They didn’t get as badly affected by the global financial crisis as other nations, and I see good growth opportunities in Chile, Brazil, Peru and Colombia.”

Meka notes a distinct change in sentiment from clients since April and this financial year is looking optimistic, provided of course ‘nothing unexpected goes wrong’.

Ausenco is providing services on the Esperanza project through its process infrastructure business Pipeline Systems Incorporated (PSI). The project involves building a seawater pipeline 2300m above sea level to the Pacific, crossing 145km of the Atacama Desert — the driest in the world.

“The awards to our PSI business recognise the work performed for Minera Esperanza during previous phases and supports our desire to extend our services to existing clients wherever possible,” says Meka.

The project will produce copper, gold, silver and molybdenum, with completion expected by the fourth quarter of 2010.