Aggreko AusPac has won a $100 million contract to build and operate a new 20MW power station at Rio Tinto’s Amrun bauxite project on Cape York.

The contract involves installation of its high-efficiency diesel power system and will include engine efficiency upgrades and a heat-recovery system to be deployed over the duration of the contract.

A team of more than 20 Aggreko employees including engineers, project managers and technicians will come together to deliver the installation by December 2017, with go-live set for April 2018.

This will be Aggreko AusPac’s longest independent power project (IPP), with a 15-year term and a 5-year option to extend.

Rio Tinto Amrun project general manager Marcia Hanrahan described the contract to build the power station as an important milestone for delivery of the Amrun project.

The $2.6 billion project will extend mining activities on part of Rio Tinto’s existing lease south of the Embley River, between Weipa and Aurukun.