A HAMPSHIRE firm has won a £55 million government contract to upgrade a power plant vital for the defence of the Falkland Islands.

Trant Engineering, based in Totton, will carry out the work at power station, boiler house and district heating system at the Mount Pleasant RAF base.

The contract, the biggest in Trant’s history, was agreed between the firm and the Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO).

It comes after Defence Secretary Michael Fallon visited the Falklands in February and is part of £180 million investment over the next decade to modernise the military infrastructure on the islands.

Mount Pleasant was opened in 1985 as part of programme to strengthen the islands’ defence following the invasion by Argentina three years earlier.

It is home to around 1,200 military personnel and is the base for Typhoon fighters, Voyager tanker planes for in-flight refuelling, and air sea rescue helicopters.

Situated on East Falkland, around 30 miles from the capital Port Stanley, Mount Pleasant acts as the islands only international airport.

Mr Fallon said: “The upgrading of these facilities is an important part of our major investment plan to deliver better infrastructure for our Armed Forces.

"Alongside our recent contract to improve Mare harbour, we are boosting our defensive capability and supporting the Islands.”

Simon Trant, managing director international at Trant Engineering said: “It will be a privilege and honour to utilise our expertise to upgrade Mount Pleasant power station.

“The contract award follows a rigorous and exacting selection process.

“We look forward to delivering efficient, integrated and innovative improvements and working with partners in our trademark collaborative manner.

“We have been working on various infrastructure projects on the Falkland Islands and so we are operationally familiar with the environment.”

Trant, which employs 900 and has an annual turnover of £100m, has been working on projects for the MoD in the Falklands for 15 years and has an office in Port Stanley.

Recently the firm was awarded a £15m contract to build three remote radar sites and have been working with Noble Energy on the installation of a temporary dock facility in Stanley Harbour to support an offshore drilling programme.

Trant also designed and built a six million litre aviation fuel storage tank for the MoD on Ascension Island – the re-fuelling stop for flights to the South Atlantic.

In addition to its military installations requiring power Mount Pleasant has a wide range of social and sporting facilities including a gym, swimming pool, golf course, diving centre, kart racing, Laser Quest, a library, cinema, bowling, climbing wall and indoor and outdoor sports pitches, the islands’ only cricket ground and a branch of Costa Coffee.