TOTTENHAM cabling company Olex has been awarded a $43 million contract to supply power cable for the Victorian desalination project, securing the jobs of nearly 400 workers.

The company will supply about 225 of the overall 260 kilometres of copper cable required for the desalination project. The remaining 35 kilometres will come from Belgium.

The copper cable will carry electricity to power the desalination plant through a new 87 kilometre underground transmission network from the plant site near Wonthaggi to Cranbourne.

Olex will spend the next 12 months making the cables before jointing and commissioning them. The project is expected to run until April 2011.

The cabling used in the project will be the longest piece of cable in the world to handle a voltage of 220 kilovolts.

Minister for Industry and Trade Martin Pakula said the contract would secure jobs at the Tottenham plant.

“The spin-off benefits from the desalination project are enormous,” he said.

Olex employs 375 people at its Tottenham site.

The announcement comes four months after the completion of a $20 million upgrade to the Tottenham plant, including a one-of-a-kind drum mover, new machinery, a new control system and upgrades to the Olex tower.

“It does secure our future…this is a fantastic opportunity to use the machinery from our upgrade and retain our workers,” Olex General Manager of Energy and Infrastructure Greg Styling said.