Hunter Ports in pitch for terminal
81 times viewed. Saturday, 14 Jan 2012It is reported that Nathan Tinkler infrastructure outfit will hold its first meeting with the NSW government next week in an attempt to win support to develop a USD 2.5 billion coal terminal at Newcastle.

Hunter Ports proposal rivals a plan by Port Waratah Coal Services but Mr Tinkler group will argue its development is cheaper and more environmentally friendly.

Mr Steve van Barneveld MD said that his plan could be USD 1.5 billion to USD 2 billion cheaper than Port Waratah port expansion known as T4.

Hunter Ports submitted its proposal to the government on November 28 to be reviewed by an assessment group which Hunter Ports will meet for the first time on Tuesday to discuss its case.

Mr van Barneveld said "The meeting is for us to respond to questions and hear feedback in what we hope will be the start of an ongoing discussion with the state in terms of evaluation and consideration of our proposal. We are confident that the merits are very compelling and the state would consider this proposal seriously."

PWCS acting chief Mr Shaun Sears said T4 had environmental approval and the support of the state government already. He said that he could not comment on statements about the cost of the rival developments, but his company had contracts in place from coal exporters for long term commitments.

He added that "We are building T4 to meet contract obligations for 2015. It is a firm concept that we have been working on for sometime and we are progressing it in line with our schedule."

Hunter Ports is yet to have public support from the industry but Mr van Barneveld said a clear indication from the state government that a terminal could be developed on the proposed site would change that view.

He said that "We've had numerous discussions with existing users of current infrastructure to ensure that they are fully across what our concept is."

Mr van Barneveld said it was clear only one project was likely to be developed in the short term and he was hopeful the government would see the merits of Hunter Ports terminal.

The plan is to develop a 100 million tonne a year facility on the former BHP steelworks site.