The troubled Dudgeon Point Coal Terminal project will not be going ahead after the North Queensland Bulk Ports Corporation (NQBP) announced on Friday that it has made a request to the Queensland Coordinator-General to cancel their declaration of a coordinated project.
The project, earmarked for the Port of Hay Point, south of Mackay, was put on hold in 2013 after an industry-wide downturn in the coal market saw demand for a new coal terminal greatly reduce.
In a statement the Corporation said, “Although NQBP has completed numerous environmental and social studies for the EIS (Environmental Impact Statements), all of the required studies had not been completed when the project was paused.”
Legislation requires the EIS to be submitted within two years of the publication of the Terms of Reference, which in the case of the Dudgeon Point Coal Terminals Project is by 21 June 2014 and this will not be achieved because of the pausing of the project.
“Although this particular development proposal will be withdrawn, it does not necessarily indicate that expansion to the coal export facilities will not be required at the Port of Hay Point in the future,” said Brad Fish, CEO of NQBP.
“Those interested in port development must demonstrate demand and current and short-term forecast market demand for coal does not support an expansion to the capacity proposed in the Dudgeon Point Coal Terminals Project,” said Mr Fish.
Dudgeon Point was declared a coordinated project in 2011 and the Terms of Reference for the EIS were approved by the Coordinator-General on 21 June
2012.
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