J. Murphy & Sons has been selected to help deliver a major electricity interconnection project between the UK and Belgium.

The company will work alongside Siemens to develop a converter station and compound buildings for the 1GW Nemo Link scheme in Richborough, Kent.

A total of nine buildings will be built at the 8-hectare Nemo Link compound and work is scheduled to begin this month.

The 1GW high voltage direct current (HVDC) electrical interconnector is a joint venture between National Grid Interconnectors and Elia. The development will transfer electrical power via subsea cables between the UK and Belgium. The bi-directional power will flow in either direction at different times, depending on the supply and demand in each country.

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Vincent Bowler, operations director for power at Murphy, said: "We are looking forward to working on what promises to be a hugely innovative project for the industry as a whole. We are appointing key personnel across our in-house power team, specialists in contracts of this nature, to ensure we deliver all the elements needed to make this international bi-directional project a success."

Paul Tooth, head of interconnectors at Siemens, added: "We have selected Murphy as our partner for this prestigious project and look forward to working with them again, to build upon our previously successful collaborations in the UK energy market."

The work by Murphy is scheduled to finish by next year, with Nemo Link set to begin commercial operation by 2018.

(LM/MH)