The project, known as the X21 Expansion, was officially opened by Queensland Premier Anna Bligh on November 8, 2007. It cost $116 million and most notably included the addition of another stacker/reclaimer at the terminal.
The expansion also included additional stockpiles and associated conveyer systems.
The civil engineering contractor involved was Brisbane-based Civdec Constructions, which carried out all the construction for the third bulk stacker reclaimer bund in a joint venture with Perth-based construction and engineering company Civmec.
“Basically, Civdec did all the civil works, being the earthworks, quarry work and the infrastructure associated with that,” Civdec business development manager David Bowen told MiningNewsPremium.net.
“Civmec did the concrete works, which was all the foundations, the stacker reclaimer’s beams and things like that.
“X21 had about 250,000 cubic metres of earthworks carried out [and] about 50,000 cubic metres of rockfill from a quarry. It was about 1.3 kilometres of stacker reclaimer bund and also included a sewage treatment plant and services reticulation.”
Bowen told MNP the work was tendered on the open market and the job was competitively bid.
He said Civdec has also submitted a tender for the next stage of the Abbot Point expansion, which is called X50, and will see port capacity more than double to 50Mtpa.
“You never know with these things, but we put our tender in at what we thought was a good price,” he said. “We’ve got the experience and the same team available for it and we think we’ve put together a good proposal.”
Bowen said the capacity expansion at the port would be synchronised with Queensland’s rail expansion projects, namely the Northern Missing Link Rail Project.
Speaking at the opening of the X21 Expansion, Bligh said the progress of the X50 Expansion would be contingent on the construction of the $765 million Northern Missing Link Rail project by Queensland Rail – linking the Goonyella and Newlands rail systems – as well as approvals and contractual commitments by coal producers.
The Northern Missing Link Rail project is estimated to be completed and operational by 2010.
Bligh said around $4.4 billion is being invested to expand the state's coal transport infrastructure with $2.9 billion being spent by QR and government-owned port corporations.
State treasurer Andrew Fraser said coal remained Queensland's most important mineral export commodity.
"Coal exports last financial year were approximately 153 million tonnes – more than double (59Mt) what was exported less than 20 years ago," Fraser said.
"Forecasts for the next five years remain strong, particularly to markets in China, South-East Asia, India, Japan and Brazil.
"Through our Government-owned corporations and investments such as the X21 expansion at Abbot Point, we are planning for the future to help ensure continued prosperity in our booming coal export industry."
In a further development for the greater Abbot Point area and the nearby town of Bowen, the State Government has plans to establish a State Development Area (SDA), located 10-25km from the Bowen township.
The idea is to set aside about 15,000 hectares of land as a buffer area between the Bowen townships and large-scale industries such as those at the port.
The boundaries of the planned SDA extend from Abbot Point port in the north to Mt Roundback in the south, and from Euri Creek in the east to beyond Wilmington in the west.
According to the Minister Assisting the Premier in North Queensland, Craig Wallace, the SDA has been strategically placed on the eastern coast, near a deep-water port which can be expanded, and close to transport links like the Bruce Highway and rail infrastructure.
