Premier Anna Bligh said Queensland Coordinator-General Colin Jensen had signed off on the project's environmental impact statement.
"The project has a capital value of $500 million and will require a construction workforce peaking at 350, and around 700 new jobs will be created when the new facilities open,” she said.
Construction could begin late next year on the project, which includes a new rail link from the Moura short line into the Aldoga industrial precinct north of Gladstone, and a rolling stock maintenance yard and provisioning facilities at Aldoga in the north of the Gladstone State Development Area.
The North Coast line, east of Yarwun, will quadruple in size to ensure more efficient movement of coal and freight in and out of Gladstone.
"These projects are needed to keep up with growing demand in the coal industry and it is that demand that proves this industry will continue to provide thousands of jobs no matter who owns the infrastructure that transports coal to our ports," Bligh said.
The Coordinator-General's report recommends that the Moura link-Aldoga rail project proceed subject to a range of conditions.
"The new line would carry rail traffic from Moura and Surat in the south, diverting rail traffic through less populated areas to the immediate north of greater Gladstone, to the existing North Coast line southeast of Mount Larcom," Jensen said.
"This will ensure a quick, direct link between the coalfields and the industrial centre, with minimum impact to the population centre of Gladstone.
"The benefits for both industry and residents are that coal will be transported more efficiently, and noise and coal dust impacts will be minimised."
The Moura-Aldoga project will be developed in parallel to, and service, a number of facilities, including the proposed new Wiggins Island Coal Terminal at Gladstone Port.
Subject to formal development approval by Gladstone Regional Council and the Department of Infrastructure and Planning, and finalisation of some operational works approvals, construction is expected to begin in late 2010/early 2011, with operations starting two years later.
