Samsung C&T delivers first Roy Hill iron ore shipment

Marking the completion of a multibillion-dollar construction project in Australia by Samsung C&T, iron ore shipments have commenced from Port Hedland to Korea, the builder said Thursday. 

A total of 100,000 tons of iron ore from the Roy Hill mine in the Pilbara region were loaded on a ship at the port in Western Australia.

The company launched the $5.8 billion project in April 2013, to build an iron ore processing plant, a rail network and a fully integrated port for processing and exporting iron ore for Australian billionaire Gina Rinehart’s Roy Hill Holdings. 

“It is an honor and pleasure for Samsung C&T to witness Roy Hill’s historic shipment of its iron ore. We appreciate Roy Hill and the team for their commitment and dedication toward the successful completion of the project,” Samsung C&T president and CEO Choi Chi-hun said during an event to celebrate the first shipment in Australia.

The company said it employed around 2,400 workers daily to complete the four separate project stages and the ore shipment within 32 months of bagging the contract.

According to the firm, it was “one of the largest and most complex projects” in Samsung C&T’s history. The project faced numerous challenges due to the remote location, weather and environmental conditions.

“When we first became involved with Roy Hill, many people questioned why we would take on such an ambitious project in one of the harshest regions in Australia with a landscape and climate so different from our own,” Choi said.

“However, like the people of Australia and their great pioneers, we battled against the many challenges we faced to finally complete this historic project, which we are honored to have been part of,” he added. 

Based on its solid relationship with Australian subcontractors for the Roy Hill project, Samsung C&T hopes to expand its business in the country, the company said.

Recently, Samsung C&T was awarded the WestConnex Motorway project in a joint venture with Leighton Contractors and John Holland, who worked on the Roy Hill project together.


By Park Han-na (hnpark@heraldcorp.com)