MELBOURNE, May 29 – The A$ 10 billion Alpha coal project in Queensland has got environmental approval. It is Australia’s biggest coal mines and for India’s GVK Power & Infrastructure it clears a key hurdle towards developing it.
Dr. GVK Reddy, Chairman and Managing Director, GVK in a media release said, “I am tremendously proud of the hard work our team at GVK has put into achieving this milestone which now paves the way for us to complete financing and secure final mining approvals for the Alpha Project in the second half of 2012. I would like to acknowledge the Queensland government for their efforts in making this happen within a few months of their winning the elections. We remain committed to developing our world class projects in a timely and responsible manner and ultimately bring widespread benefits to this great state.”
GVK’s Alpha project is the front-runner among several projects in the untapped Galilee Basin in Queensland, where rival Indian group Adani Enterprises is planning an A$10.9 billion coal and rail project, reports Reuters.
The Alpha project is being run by Hancock Coal, 79 percent owned by GVK and 21 percent owned by Asia’s richest woman, Gina Rinehart, who was recently in the news for getting approval to hire foreign workers for an iron ore mine.
The Aifa coal project still needs federal government environmental approval.
Reuters says, “GVK expects to start construction, which will involve more than 4,000 workers at its peak, in 2013 and aims to start producing coal in 2015”.
