The Queensland State Government has decided to approve the GVK Rail Corridor from the Galilee Basin to the port of Abbot Point in Queensland, Australia.
This was announced in their Parliament earlier today.
Dr. G.V.K. Reddy, Chairman and Managing Director, GVK, in a statement said, “We welcome the State Government's decision to approve the construction of the GVK Rail Corridor. This investment will deliver wider benefits as it provides both initial and additional capacity to satisfy both Galilee and Bowen Basin rail capacity requirements in the future.” This is a boost for the company as concerns were expressed about the Federal Government taking up the issue of environment clearance with the GVK.
The company expressed its commitment to open up the Galilee Basin wherein it pans to invest few billion dollars for mine and rail projects.
GVK has stated that its railway alignment is an efficient and cost effective option. It is also the most advanced with agreement reached with a majority of landowners and rail infrastructure manager accreditation in place.
The company is looking forward to cooperation from State and Federal Governments and third party users as it continues to finalise the requisite approvals to enable the construction of the 495-km standard gauge multi-user rail system.
Current approvals are for 60 million tonnes (mt) a year.
The rail line is scalable to 120 mt a year. This is a big relief to landholders along the rail corridor.