Nexans wins Euro 140 mln contract to supply a high voltage subsea cable in China

Paris, France – Nexans, the worldwide leader in the cable industry, has been awarded a contract worth approximately 140 million Euros by the EHV Power Transmission Chinese Company of CSG, and Guangdong Nan-Dian Power Equipment Co, to manufacture and install a 500kV submarine power link to connect Hainan Island at the south end of China to the Chinese mainland in Guangdong province.
The 30km submarine cable link, capable of carrying up to 600MW of power, will be laid at a water depth of around 100m. The power link is scheduled to commence operation in July 2009 and will play a key strategic role in the development of Hainan Island as a tourist resort.

The submarine link will comprise an oil-filled cable with a cross section of 800 mm2 and will be manufactured in Japan by NVC, a factory joint venture owned 66 percent by Nexans and 34 percent by the Japanese company Viscas. It will be installed by Nexans’ own cable ship, the Skagerrak.

The Hainan submarine cable project will commence with an official launch ceremony on Saturday, February 10, to be attended by the President and Managing Director of CSG, senior officials from Guangdong Province and Hainan Province and Patrick Barth, Nexans’ HV business group President.

“The creation of NVC, the production joint venture dedicated to the manufacturing of submarine high voltage power cables with the Japanese Viscas, announced last July, aimed at immediately increasing Nexans’ submarine high voltage cable and service potential activity over the next few years. Today, this first contract perfectly illustrates the needs of this fast-growing market. Thanks to this alliance, Nexans is today able to meet its Chinese customers’ demand” underlines Patrick Barth.

About Guangdong Nan-Dian Power Equipment Co
Guangdong Nan-Dian Power Equipment Co is engaged in the purchasing, supplying and concerning management responsibilities of various kinds of equipments, materials and spare parts for the grid construction, power production, grid major repair and technological transformation for China Southern Power Grid Corporation.

About Nexans
With energy cables as its core, Nexans, the worldwide leader in the cable industry, offers an extensive range of cables (copper, aluminum and optical fiber) and cabling systems. The Group’s strategy is focused on infrastructure, industry and building markets. Nexans develops solutions for industry sectors such as shipbuilding, oil and gas, nuclear, automotive, electronics, aeronautics, handling and automation and includes an offering dedicated to public and private (local area) telecommunications networks.
With an industrial presence in more than 30 countries and commercial activities worldwide, Nexans employs 21,000 people and had sales in 2006 of 7.5 billion euros. Nexans is listed on the Paris stock exchange, compartment A of the Eurolist of Euronext. More information on www.nexans.com