Australia scraps $9-bn coal port expansion

The Queensland government has slashed the huge $9-billion coal terminal expansion at Abbot Point on the eastern coast of Queensland in the wake of depressing market sentiment and the withdrawal of mining giant Rio Tinto Plc from the project.

In a notification to the North Queensland Bulk Ports Corporation (NQBP), the authority managing the seaport facilities in Abbot Point, the state government said the multi-cargo facility and six extra terminals in Abbot Point would not proceed.

The government further stated that the development of the existing Abbot Point port and two terminals will go ahead as planned.

The ambitious port expansion project near Bowen was initiated by the previous Labour party-led government in order to meet the rising demand of coal miners. It envisaged increasing the overall port capacity many-fold from the current 50 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) to 385 mtpa with nine terminals.

Anna Bligh's Labour party suffered a crushing defeat in the March elections, following which the Liberal National party led by Campbell Newman came into power in Queensland with 79 of the 89 parliamentary seats.

Queensland's minister for state development, infrastructure and planning and deputy premier Jeff Seeney blamed delays in obtaining approvals and the unnecessary size and scale of the planned terminals for abandoning the project.