Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani has said that work on the $16.5 billion (around Rs 10,000 crore) Carmichael coal mine project in Queensland, Australia, will begin in October, Mint reported on Monday. “We will start construction of the project by October, and the first coal will come out in March 2020,” he was quoted as saying.
The conglomerate decided to move ahead with the project after a Brisbane court on August 25 dismissed two appeals against the venture.
The Carmichael coal mine project was first proposed in 2010. It has been tangled in legal disputes for years as environmentalists have opposed it saying it will cut into the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage site and increase pollution.
About $7 billion (around Rs 4,000 crore) will be invested in the first phase of the project by 2020, and $9 billion (approximately Rs 5,000 crore) over the next 10 years. The group has already invested $3.5 billion (around Rs 2,000 crore) in it. The company had earlier said that the project would create 10,000 direct and indirect jobs.
The Carmichael project is located in the Galilee Basin. The Adani Group had approached the Northern Australian Infrastructure Facility to finance the rail line that is part of the project.
“We are building more than a rail line,” Adani’s Australian Chief Jayakumar Janakraj had told The Australian. “We are building a line that will open the Galilee Basin, linking that massive coal reserve to markets around the world, generating power.”
The coal will be transported to India via this rail line.
Limited-time offer: Big stories, small price. Keep independent media alive. Become a Scroll member today!
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!