Hyderabad: Infrastructure conglomerate GVK has received environmental clearance from the Queensland government in Australia for its Alpha coal and rail project. The company has set aside $ 10 billion for the project.
The approval is crucial to the company as its Alpha Project is now the only Galilee Basin proponent with an approved Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). The project, expected to generate 4,000 jobs at peak, is being run by Hancock Coal, in which 79% is owned by GVK and 21% by Gina Rinehart, the world's richest woman, according to Forbes.
Last year, GVK paid $1.26 billion to buy the coal assets and related logistics infrastructure in Australia from Hancock through group company GVK Coal Developers (Singapore). The three mines - Alpha, Alpha West and Kevin's Corner are known to have total resources of 8 billion tonnes of thermal coal in addition to the rail and port facilities.
The Alpha Coal Project consists of a 30 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) mine, a 495km standard gauge railway with 60mtpa approvals and a terminal and two berths at Abbot Point catering to at least 60mtpa of thermal coal destined for Asian markets.
GVK Reddy, CMD, GVK group, said the latest milestone "paves the way for us to complete financing and secure final mining approvals for the Alpha Project in the second half of 2012. The coordinator-general's report is a major step in finalising the regulatory requirements and enables us to fast track the completion of key construction and operations contracts." In 2011 GVK Hancock delivered the first (and only Galilee Basin) bulk samples from its Alpha site to power stations in South Korea and China.
Commenting on the development, GV Sanjay Reddy, vice- chairman, GVK group, who is spearheading the project, said: "The EIS is yet another milestone towards this goal and the October 2010 declaration of the rail corridor and signing the port framework agreement for T3 at Abbot Point all adds to the advanced nature of the project."
The infrastructure developed by this project - such as the rail, port and power will benefit other local developments. GVK has interests in energy, resources, airports, transportation, hospitality and life sciences. It has projects in the pipeline worth over 30,000 crore ($ 6.6 billion) in India.
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