This move should facilitate the closure of Barney Point, which has raised pollution concerns among Gladstone residents for several years, and also would be welcomed by the industry.
Coal-handling capacity includes port terminal services, coal-handling services and coal-storage facilities.
The Gladstone Ports Corporation and a consortium of coal producers can now construct the new Wiggins Island terminal at the port, a development approved by the Queensland government.
They plan to minimise pollution problems by ensuring the Wiggins Island terminal is better situated and more technologically advanced than the Barney Point terminal, while also providing more than double the coal export tonnage capacity.
"The ACCC considers the proposed arrangements are likely to benefit the public by reducing the amount of coal dust pollution that will effect residential areas and avoiding possible delays to the development of additional coal export infrastructure and the benefits that come from coal exports, including investment and job growth in Queensland," ACCC chairman Graeme Samuel said.
The transfer of coal export services from Barney Point to Wiggins Island is not expected to disrupt coal export operations at the port. After the transfer is complete, Barney Point will remain open to export other goods.
The Gladstone terminal has been recognised by the industry as a problem that needs to be changed, and the decision will have minimal impact on coal companies, industry insiders said.
“This is not a surprise and there should be no impact on exports, developments or coal companies. It will just mean that the same coal will get loaded from a different wharf in the future and that wharf will be further from the public,” one source said.
Separately, the Gladstone region and surrounds are receiving $A490 million this financial year alone as extensive planning and spending is underway to prepare Gladstone and the Surat Basin for the LNG boom, Queensland Premier Anna Bligh said.
"The multi-billion dollar liquefied natural gas industry offers incredible opportunity for Gladstone and the Surat Basin,” she said.
"My government is determined to harness that opportunity while protecting the environment and liveability that Gladstone and southwest Queensland residents love.
"We have learnt from the experience in the Bowen Basin that rapid growth associated with resource industries can put pressure on communities.”
