Environmental Justice Australia (EJA), on Wednesday, said it has written to the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), asking it to clear up confusion around which company is seeking Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility (NAIF) funding to build a coal-carting rail line from the Adanis’ proposed Carmichael mine in Australia.

EJA has advised the BSE of contradictory and unclear reports on the identity of the applicant, James Lorenz, Director, Australian Marine Conservation Society (AMCS), said in a statement.

On October 20, 2016, in an answer to a question in the Economics Legislation Committee about ‘specific potential proponents’, the Federal Government had confirmed NAIF had been in discussions with ‘Adani Australia’, he said.

However, on December 8, 2016, Adani Enterprises Ltd (AEL), a publicly-listed company in India that holds regulatory approvals for the Carmichael rail line, wrote to the BSE saying it did not have an interest in the rail project.

But, according to Lorenz, on March 12, 2017, reports suggested that AEL had applied for NAIF funding. “NAIF has refused Freedom of Information requests that would reveal the identity of the applicant”.

“Adani Enterprises Ltd’s relationship with the Carmichael rail project and NAIF is confusing,” said David Barnden, lawyer at EJA.

He said NAIF’s board must be satisfied the loan will be repaid, and it must comply with best practice. “The precise identity of the applicant should be of great interest to Adani’s investors, so we wrote to the Bombay Stock Exchange today, asking it to seek clarification from the company.”

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