Murray & Roberts: Water division wins contract in Ghana

Murray & Roberts Water, in partnership with technology provider Miwatek, has been awarded a contract by a blue chip mining client in Ghana to undertake basic engineering design and pilot testing at one of its operations. The identity of the client and the value of the contract were not disclosed. Ed Jardim, the group communications executive at M&R, the listed construction and engineering group, said on Friday that the client had asked not to be named and that the contract value was minimal because it was only a feasibility study at this stage. ”After the feasibility study is complete and if the full project is awarded to Murray & Roberts Water, then the full plant project value could be substantial.” He added that Miwatek would provide the technology on this contract, with the basic design and engineering being done 100 percent by Murray & Roberts Water. Work on the basic engineering design and pilot testing contract had already started and it would run to April next year. Harry Singleton, the operations executive at Murray & Roberts Water, said it was pleased by this contract because it had quickly followed an earlier implementation of a containerised water treatment plant for Gold Fields Ghana at its Tarkwa operations. Singleton said the strength of the M&R brand in sub-Saharan Africa, the group’s proven project execution capability in remote African locations and its flexibility in uniting core expertise in the industry were key to its securing this project. “This contract also provides us with an opportunity to follow our preferred business model of early stakeholder engagement to find optimal technical and commercial solutions that fulfil the agreed project objectives.” M&R shares rose 1.06 percent to close at R25.73 on Friday. – Roy Cokayne