Newcastle's coal-loading capacity could reach 300million tonnes a year, or nearly triple the current amount, in the foreseeable future.
That was the plan unveiled on Thursday by Port Waratah Coal Services, the Rio Tinto-managed company that operates coal terminals at Carrington and on Kooragang Island.
At a Hunter Business Chamber lunch on Thursday, PWCS general manager Graham Davidson said coal companies had signed ‘‘take or pay’’ contracts to ship more than 145million tonnes through its two terminals in 2015, triggering plans to have the port’s fourth, or T4, terminal, operating on Kooragang by 2015.
The BHP-backed Newcastle Coal Infrastructure Group has built stage one of its terminal – the port’s third – on Kooragang, and is expanding its capacity to 53million tonnes a year, on the way to its approved capacity of 66million tonnes.
Mr Davidson said the T4 plans were yet to go to the PWCS board, but he expected to ask for more than $200million in funds to build a T4 first stage capable of handling 29million tonnes a year.
Mr Davidson showed the coal lunch an eight-stage plan for T4 with an eventual capacity of more than 100million tonnes a year.
He said T4 berths would run to within 250metres of the Tourle Street bridge and the fourth loader would run out of berthing space after six stages and PWCS was talking to Newcastle Port Corporation about extra berths.
At full capacity, the four Newcastle terminals would be able to ship more than 300million tonnes a year.
That figure did not include plans by mining figure Nathan Tinkler to put a coal-loader on part of the former steelworks site.
Mr Davidson said the global coal industry’s massive boom showed no signs of slowing.
That was the plan unveiled on Thursday by Port Waratah Coal Services, the Rio Tinto-managed company that operates coal terminals at Carrington and on Kooragang Island.
At a Hunter Business Chamber lunch on Thursday, PWCS general manager Graham Davidson said coal companies had signed ‘‘take or pay’’ contracts to ship more than 145million tonnes through its two terminals in 2015, triggering plans to have the port’s fourth, or T4, terminal, operating on Kooragang by 2015.
The BHP-backed Newcastle Coal Infrastructure Group has built stage one of its terminal – the port’s third – on Kooragang, and is expanding its capacity to 53million tonnes a year, on the way to its approved capacity of 66million tonnes.
Mr Davidson said the T4 plans were yet to go to the PWCS board, but he expected to ask for more than $200million in funds to build a T4 first stage capable of handling 29million tonnes a year.
Mr Davidson showed the coal lunch an eight-stage plan for T4 with an eventual capacity of more than 100million tonnes a year.
He said T4 berths would run to within 250metres of the Tourle Street bridge and the fourth loader would run out of berthing space after six stages and PWCS was talking to Newcastle Port Corporation about extra berths.
At full capacity, the four Newcastle terminals would be able to ship more than 300million tonnes a year.
That figure did not include plans by mining figure Nathan Tinkler to put a coal-loader on part of the former steelworks site.
Mr Davidson said the global coal industry’s massive boom showed no signs of slowing.
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