MELBOURNE -(Dow Jones)- Rio Tinto PLC (RIO) has given a roughly A$55 million contract for a housing development in the Western Australia town of Wickham to a joint venture between Brierty Ltd. (BYL.AU) and the Ngurluma and Yindjibarndi people, the construction firm said Thursday. The construction of 221 housing lots will provide additional accommodation needed for the expansion of Rio Tinto's Cape Lambert port and rail facilities in the iron ore-rich Pilbara region, Brierty said in a statement. The contract is for the first stage of the project and work by the Brierty and the Ngarluma Yindjibarndi Foundational Ltd. will include bulk earthworks, services installation, road works and landscaping, it said. Construction is scheduled to take place over nine months beginning in June. -By Robb M. Stewart, Dow Jones Newswires; +61 3 9292 2094; robb.stewart@dowjones.com
