The Federal Ministry of Environment of Australia has given its approval to revised expansion plans for the Abbot Point coal terminal in Queensland, which had been approved by the Queensland government in August 2015. The Ministry's approval will expire on 31 January 2031, and construction must be under way within five years for the approval to be maintained.
The expansion project aims at more than doubling the coal export capacity of the terminal from 50 Mt/year to 120 Mt/year. The approval opens bright perspectives for Indian coal mining companies Adani and GVK, which plan to develop coal mines in the Galilee basin of Queensland and to export their production from the Abbot Point terminal.
The A$16bn (US$11.6bn) project is highly criticised for its potential environmental impacts, with 1.1 mcm of material dredged near the Great Barrier Reef and dumped on land. The project is also announced in a context of global coal gluts and very low prices.