Coal news and updates

GVK, Aurizon to develop rail linkage at Abbot Point Port

November 25: GVK Coal Infrastructure (Singapore) Pte. Ltd, a subsidiary of GVK Power and Infrastructure Limited, and Australia-based Aurizon Holdings Limited entered into an agreement on November 25 to develop railways and coal terminal at the existing Abbot Point Port in Australia, GVK said in a filing in the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).

The proposed rail corridor will provide access to the coal resources of Galilee Basin in the Queensland province of Australia, including GVK Hancock's Alpha, Alpha West and Kevin's Corner's coal project.

Earlier this month, GVK had acquired a 100% stake in the Kevin's Corner project in Queensland from Hancock Prospecting Pty. Ltd. and a 79 % stake in the Alpha Coal and Alpha West Coal projects.

"The proposed agreement is intended to provide sufficient equity and debt funding to reach final close. The parties have made progress over the last few months and reached alignment on rail solutions and on the commercial terms for proposed transactions," the company said.

Initially 300 km of the 500 km corridor and track under the original GVK Hancock project will be constructed before concentrating on existing Aurizon's infrastructure, it said, adding, under the proposal, the southern rail connection will be a narrow-gauge line with a capacity to carry trains up to 25,000 tons.

The proposed rail link will also allow the phased development of the third terminal of Abbot Point Port to match volumes and thereby ramp-up, thereby materially reducing the initial cost, the company said.