The federal government has approved the building of a new coal terminal in Newcastle in NSW, which it believes could boost coal exports by $1 billion.
In a statement last Thursday, Treasurer Peter Costello said the government had approved the facility, to be built near Kooragang, under its foreign investment policy.
"The new coal terminal and shiploading facilities to be built near Kooragang, will include new rail infrastructure, stockyards and a deepening of the Hunter River," he said.
"The consortium building the terminal facilities - the Newcastle Coal Infrastructure Group (NCIG) - has estimated the project will create up to 1,000 extra jobs in the Hunter, boosting coal exports by $1 billion and generating up to 5,000 jobs across NSW."
The NCIG is made up of BHP Billiton, Centennial Coal, Donaldson Coal, Peabody Energy Australia Coal, Felix Resources and Whitehaven Coal.
Costello said overcoming infrastructure bottlenecks was a key economic priority for Australia.
"The current bottlenecks have resulted in delays and unnecessary costs for exporters," he said.
Source: Industry Search
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