SYDNEY, Dec 10 (Reuters) - Australia approved on Tuesdaymajor dredging work to expand a coal shipping port adjacent tothe Great Barrier Reef in a bid to attract more coal mining.
The nod for further dredging at the Abbot Point port followsagreements not to dispose of up to 12 million cubic metres ofwaste inside the reef and instead use the material for landinfill.
The expansion of the coal port would see four new coalterminals constructed to provide extra annual capacity of 120million tonnes. It would make Abbot Point one of the world'slargest coal ports, moving 300 million tonnes annually.
It would also support developments in Australia's coal-richBowen, Surat, and Galilee basins, holding some of the world'smost abundant coal reserves.
Australia's environment minister Greg Hunt said the amountof dredging allowed had been reduced to 3 million cubic metresfrom up to 38 million proposed previously to better protect themarine environment.
"Some of the strictest conditions in Australian history havebeen placed on these projects to ensure that any impacts areavoided, mitigated or offset," Hunt said.
But environmentalists said any dredging will damage thereef.
"Dredging and dumping on this scale is a body blow to analready fragile reef," said Felicity Wishart, Barrier ReefCampaign Director for the Australian Marine ConservationSociety.
CHALLENGES DERAIL COAL PLANS
An expansion of port facilities have long been deemednecessary to open up additional coal fields.
Ambitious plans to develop coal mines in the Galilee Basin,which sits in the outback 500 miles from the nearest port, havebeen derailed by weak coal prices and infrastructure challenges.
Mines under consideration in the Galilee Basin include GVKPower & Infrastructure's 30 million tonne per yearKevin's Corner mine.
GVK is also developing the Alpha Coal mine in a jointventure with billionaire Gina Rinehart's Hancock Prospecting.
Others include China First, a 40-million-tonnes-per-yearthermal coal mine, and projects by India's Adani Enterprises and Bandanna Energy.
The government also gave its go-ahead for a liquefiednatural gas conversion plant and pipeline on Curtis Islandroughly 600 kms (375 miles) south of Abbot Point to support aproposal by Arrow Energy to exploit coal seam gasreserves in the Surat and Bowen Basins.
The Arrow LNG plant, however, is widely expected by analystsand industry insiders to be a prime candidate for scrapping asRoyal Dutch Shell, which is partnering the project withPetroChina, tries to rein in investment plans.
