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Adani committed to rail corridor

Indian miner Adani has reiterated its commitment to building the Carmichael coal mine, undeterred by the prospect of a new Labor government in Queensland.

The change in government leaves the future of funding for a rail corridor to Abbott Point in doubt, as Labor has stated the project must be self-sustaining and will not commit public money to the project.

A spokesperson for Anastacia Palaszczuk’s office said the prospective premier’s position on infrastructure spending for the mine was “quite clear”.

“We’re not going to be funding that kind of thing, but we still support the project,” he said.

Last month shadow treasurer Curtis Pitt said the $450 million in funding for the rail corridor would only come from the sale of assets proposed by the Newman government, plans which Labor will be mandated to halt.

“Labor will not support a secret deal that involves giving a multi-national mining company hundreds of millions of dollars that have been sourced from a fire-sale of Queenslanders assets,” Pitt said.

“Queenslanders can rightly expect that those companies seeking to profit from the rail line would pay for it to be built.

“If projects of this scale require taxpayer investment in a rail line to get off the ground, then you’d have to question the commercial viability of the project in the first place.”

Adani CEO Jeyakumur Janakaraj said the result of the election will not affect financial decision making.

“The company will work with every partner and every government in ensuring these important projects proceed,” he said.

Janakaraj also said Adani's decision to proceed or not to proceed with the Carmichael investment was based solely on the cost basis of the project.

“Importantly, the mine at Carmichael, which lies at the heart of these projects, will be within the first quartile of the cost curve,” he said.

A spokesperson for Adani said the company welcomed the opportunity to work with the new premier to discuss the project which would generate “taxes and royalties that the Queensland Government needs to invest right back into frontline services in the state.”

Last week a report from The Australia Institute suggested the number of jobs to be created by four proposed Galilee Basin projects had been overestimated, and that the Carmichael project would ultimately create 3500 direct mining jobs, rather than 10,000 jobs as quoted by Adani and the Newman government.

Image: Couriermail

 

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