Ministerial Statement: "SOUTHERN MISSING LINK" ...

[ozbob]

Joint Statement:

Premier and Minister for the Arts
The Honourable Anna Bligh

Minister for Infrastructure and Planning
The Honourable Stirling Hinchliffe
11/12/2010

"SOUTHERN MISSING LINK" CLEARS STATE'S ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT

The State Government has given the green light to the proposed $1 billion Surat Basin Rail (SBR) project after three years of rigorous environmental assessment.

Premier Anna Bligh has welcomed Coordinator-General Graeme Newton's conditional approval of the environmental impact statement (EIS) for the proposed new rail line between Wandoan and Banana known as the Southern Missing Link.

The move follows the state government's recent approval of the proposed $3 billion Wandoan Coal project, which would produce coal to be transported on the railway line to port facilities at Gladstone.

Up to 1,000 workers would be employed during construction of the railway, with a further 44 positions required to operate and maintain the infrastructure.

"This project would open up the Surat Basin as the next major new export region for Queensland," Ms Bligh said.

"This proposed project comprises a 210-kilometre multi-user, open access rail line to allow for the transport of coal from the Surat Basin to the Port of Gladstone for export.

"It will enable the development of significant coal resources-estimated at four billion tonnes-in the Surat Basin and generate up to an estimated $300 million in royalties per year."

The project will see coal from the Surat Basin transported along QR National's Moura Line and the proposed Moura Link rail project, to the proposed Wiggins Island Coal Export Terminal at the Port of Gladstone.

Coordinator-General Graeme Newton said the release of his report for the Surat Basin Rail project contains a comprehensive list of 115 conditions and recommendations for the construction and operation of the project.

"These conditions set requirements and procedures with respect to a number of key environmental and social issues," Mr Newton said.

"These include:

    * A range of measures to protect and minimise fragmentation of properties, vegetation and habitat
    * A comprehensive weed and pest management plan to control the spread of weeds and pests
    * Limits on the amount of groundwater used in the construction of the project to maintain water quality and quantity
    * The preparation and implementation of a coal dust management plan to control the loss of coal dust
    * Development of a temporary accommodation facility guideline to minimise the impact on the local housing market
    * A local industry participation plan to ensure the local community gains the maximum economic benefit from the project
    * Plans and protocols to manage social impacts of the project.

"This is yet another example of the Government delivering for, and listening to regional Queensland."

The proponent, a consortium comprising of ATEC Dawson Valley Railway Pty Ltd, Xstrata Coal Surat Basin Rail Pty Ltd and QR Surat Basin Pty Ltd, anticipates construction of the railway and its associated facilities could commence in 2011.

The first coal exports are forecast to begin as early as 2014.

The Coordinator-General's Report is available from the Department of Infrastructure and Planning's website at: http://www.dip.qld.gov.au/projects/transport/rail/surat-basin-rail.html

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[ozbob]

From the Australian click here!

Rail link to boost coalfield

Rail link to boost coalfield

    * Andrew Fraser
    * From: The Australian
    * December 11, 2010 12:00AM

THE possibility of a new coal mining area in southeast Queensland with the output of the Hunter Valley is a step closer.

The Bligh government has given environmental approval for the "southern missing link".

The government will today announce approval of the environmental impact statement for the proposed $1 billion railway between Wandoan in the Surat Basin west of Brisbane and the town of Banana on the line to the port of Gladstone.

Existing coalmines in the Surat Basin export through the Port of Brisbane.

Mining giant Xstrata is planning Australia's biggest open-cut mine at Wandoan, exporting 30 million tonnes of coal a year, and four other mining companies with holdings around the Xstrata project are poised to also use the line.

Sending the coal trains required to service the new mining area through suburban Brisbane would not be politically popular, so the plan is to haul the coal north to Gladstone on a 210km link to the Gladstone railway.

The port of Gladstone is being upgraded to cope with expected increases in coal exports, and Xstrata is also investigating the possibility of building a new coal port at Balaclava Island near Port Alma, about 40km north of Gladstone.

The company proposing to build the rail link, Surat Basin Railways, has three equal shareholders -- Xstrata, Queensland Rail, and the Australian Transport and Energy Corridor, which is owned by longtime Queensland development figure Everald Compton.

Mr Compton, 79, who is also the chairman of Surat Basin Railways, stepped down yesterday from his role as chairman of lobby group National Seniors, saying he was getting too old to run it.

"It's a funny old world, isn't it. These two things happening on the same day is a coincidence, but a very happy one," he said.

Mr Compton said he had been trying to get the line built for the past 15 years, and now that environmental approval had been granted, the company should be able to start building the railway before the end of next year.

Approval from Queensland Coordinator-General Graeme Newton has been three years in the waiting, and the first coal exports using the line and either Gladstone or Balaclava Island are likely to take place in 2014.

Queensland Premier Anna Bligh said up to 1000 workers would be employed on the construction of the line, with a further 44 positions required to operate and maintain the infrastructure.

"This project would open up the Surat Basin as the next major new export region for Queensland," Ms Bligh said.

"It will enable the development of significant coal resources -- estimated at 4 billion tonnes -- in the Surat Basin and generate up to an estimated $300 million in royalties per year."

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Sending the coal trains required to service the new mining area through suburban Brisbane would not be politically popular, so the plan is to haul the coal north to Gladstone on a 210km link to the Gladstone railway ...

Already stressed track capacity, no way was this going to fit on the Ippy or the Toowoomba line ..

[ozbob]

The (Gladstone) Observer --> Billion dollar rail line approved