H&W poised for windfarm contract

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Harland and Wolff is poised to sign a £10m contract to construct 30 huge wind turbines.

It is thought the order will secure up to 200 jobs at the Belfast shipyard.

In recent years, the famous shipbuilding company has diversified into the marine renewable energy sector.

The firm is expected to confirm the order within days. The off-shore windmills would be its biggest such project so far.

It currently has a huge 7,500 tonne yellow structure in its dry dock which it has built to house a transformer sub-station for a wind farm. Once completed it will be moored off the German coast.

Chief Executive Robert Cooper said Harland and Woolf wanted to build upon its experience and knowledge to promote further growth.

"A large amount of our effort is focused on the renewable energy market, not just on what we're doing but also on trying to achieve more added value, trying to get further up the food chain," he said.

"We still do elements of ship building, we still have other parts of our business in ship repair and engineering.

"We're building upon our skills, facilities and expertise to develop into a market which is very big."