Mortlake Stage 1 in Australia Signs AUD 790 Million EPC Contract

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On September 28, Yanara and Gamuda Engineering Australia signed the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contract for Stage 1 of the Mortlake Energy Hub (MEH-1) in Victoria, Australia, with a contract value of AUD 790 million. Stage 1 of the project includes a 435 MWp photovoltaic power station and a 1,449 MWh battery energy storage system, with the storage capacity increased by 249 MWh compared with the previously disclosed 1,200 MWh plan. The EPC scope covers design, procurement, construction, installation, testing, and commissioning.

This contract signing advances the two parties' prior early contractor involvement cooperation to the EPC execution stage. Gamuda entered the project's ECI stage in October 2025, participating in design, equipment procurement, and construction planning; as of the signing of this contract, approximately 80% of the design and procurement work advanced under the contractor-led design and procurement model has been completed. The project plans to carry out early works in the near term, including upgrades to the Hamilton Highway intersection near the site entrance, with main construction scheduled to commence in November 2026.

MEH-1 will connect to Victoria's existing 500 kV transmission network through the Mortlake Terminal Station. The site covers approximately 1,060 hectares and will be connected to the grid via a newly built substation, with no need for new overhead transmission lines. The latest contract discloses a storage capacity of 1,449 MWh; Gamuda's project announcement also gives a 300 MW, 4.5-hour storage configuration. There is a discrepancy in the basis for the stored energy corresponding to these two sets of data, and the project party has not yet updated unified parameters.

The contract execution period is expected to be approximately two years. The project company plans to issue a limited notice to proceed to Gamuda on September 29, allowing preparatory works to begin first; the full notice to proceed is linked to the project's financial close, and MEH SubCo plans to complete financial close in the fourth quarter of 2026. The project is scheduled to achieve energization in April 2028 and begin operations in the first quarter of 2029, with the EPC contract term expected to continue until January 2029.

In addition to the EPC contract, the two parties plan to sign a separate operations and maintenance contract worth approximately AUD 45 million within one month. The overall Mortlake Energy Hub is planned to be built in two stages, with the previously announced total scale being 450 MW of solar and a 600 MW/2,400 MWh battery energy storage system; after the increase in Stage 1 storage capacity, the final storage configuration for Stage 2 still awaits subsequent determination by the project party.