Surveying services company Veris’ wholly owned subsidiary Aqura Technologies has been awarded A$1.1-million to undertake an upgrade of the in-situ accommodation network at iron-ore company Fortescue Metals Group’s Kangi village, in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.

The scope of the 1850-room village engagement is to design and deliver physical upgrades to the Gigabit Passive Optical Network to ensure a high level of reliability of services to village guests, explains Aqura Technologies CEO Travis Young.

He adds that the enhancement of the existing infrastructure, using Aqura Technologies’ specialist technical expertise, will establish an extremely robust platform for the delivery of entertainment services and wellbeing programmes to the large workforce accommodated on site.

Aqura Technologies has started the design phase and will look to complete the project scope by July.

“The new contract adds to Aqura Technologies’ strong track record in delivering high-performance content access network (CAN) solutions for clients such as mining company BHP, gold mining company Newmont, modern mining company OZ Minerals and Abra Mining.

“Aqura Technologies’ expertise in the delivery of CAN solutions has delivered enhanced user experiences in over 16 000 accommodation rooms completed to date,” he adds.

Young explains that the Kangi camp was constructed and expanded by construction company Pindan as part of Solomon’s iron-ore mine development.

“We’re pleased to kick off a new engagement with Fortescue Metal Group, who are looking to our in-house team to provide a high-quality foundation for their Kangi Village network.”

Aqura Technologies is mindful of the benefits of this type of investment which fundamentally supports and enhances the positive wellbeing for the fly-in, fly-out staff who are away from home for extended periods and need reliable infrastructure to support connections to family and friends, Young concludes.