GVK today welcomed the Australian Federal Government’s approval for its Terminal 3 Development at the Port of Abbot Point. The approval is under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EBPC Act).
Following a rigorous and thorough assessment process by the Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities, Australian Federal Environment Minister Tony Burke announced that the GVK’s Alpha Coal Port Project at Abbot Point has been given a go-ahead.
This follows the separate approval for the Alpha mine and rail projects on August 23.
G.V.K. Reddy, Chairman, GVK, said: “This development is yet another milestone towards our goal to be the premier, most reliable coal supplier to the world enabling better lives.’’
The company believes that it can provide the best quality coal to supply power to developing countries including India. Moreover power generation is a great enabler to economic growth and a better standard of living.
The development further strengthens GVK’s commitment to develop world-class projects in a timely and responsible manner.
Global energy portfolio
Coal is an important part of the global energy portfolio, especially with respect to electricity generation, producing about 41 per cent of the world’s power.
Due to its low-cost and availability, the use of increasing quantities of coal globally is vital particularly for the ongoing enhancement of living standards for developing countries.
High grade thermal coal produced from this project will be used for export markets in North Asia along with select GVK power projects in India.
“We are delighted with this decision. We are the only coal developer in Australia to possess environmental approvals at a state and federal level that integrate the mine, rail and port, bringing to finalisation the Tier One environmental approvals that will significantly assist in the facilitation of opening up of the Galilee Basin. Importantly, we believe the overall assessment process has resulted in best practice environmental protection outcomes which we support wholeheartedly,” he said.