Plans to make Abbot Point Australia's biggest coal terminal are afoot and it's hoped the Federal Government will further advance them today with a AUD 500 million boost.

North Queensland Bulk Ports and the Ports Corporation of Queensland are waiting to discover whether the Federal Government will include AUD 500 million in its budget to kick-start the construction of a multi cargo facility at the port.

NQBP deputy chief executive officer Mr Jeff Stewart-Harris said that once the multi-cargo facility was fully developed, Abbot Point's coal capacity was expected to exceed capacities at Hay Point and Newcastle. The multi cargo facility includes 12 cape size shipping berths and a whopping 20 million cubic metres will have to be dredged to make way for it.

Eight kilometers of rock wall will be built and material from the dredging will be used to fill land behind the sea wall. A number of environmental safeguards have been put in place to minimize impacts on surrounding wetlands.

The project will cost about AUD 2.3 billion. Mr Stewart-Harris said that about AUD 1 billion would be spent for the first stage, which would get the multi-cargo facility off the ground. The multi cargo facility will service terminals 2 and 3 at the port, owned by BHP and Hancock Coal respectively. It will also service terminals 4 to 7, also planned for the port.

Mr Stewart-Harris said expansions at Hay Point and Newcastle were expected to raise those terminals' capacities to 300 million tonne per annum, but Abbot Point, once fully developed, would have a capacity near 350 million tonne per annum.

(Sourced from Daily Mercury)