The Queensland Government has announced it will move to scrap the proposed expansion of the Abbot Point multi-cargo facility (MCF) after it has become ‘abundantly apparent’ that industry does not support the move.

 

“As a government we have a responsibility to ensure that any plans for the port at Abbot Point take into consideration the short and long-term needs of industry,” State Minister for State Development Jeff Seeney said.

 

The Government has announced it will instead focus on  the development of the T2 and T3 terminals and the extension of the existing T1 facility.

 

“We consider that expansion at Abbot Point should be incremental. We will proceed with T2 and T3 and will discuss with industry what additional capacity is needed as that expansion is underway,” Mr Seeney said.

 

Mr Seeney said the recent Federal Government decision to push the approval process for Abbot Point back to the end of 2012 indicated that the T4-T9 and MCF proposals might never pass the regulatory approval process.
 
“The significant scale, complexity and potential impacts of the proposed infrastructure are extensive and it would be many years before the whole of the planned additional capacity would realistically be warranted.”
 
“Our focus on T2 and T3 is a more practical and efficient approach to expansion of infrastructure at Abbot Point,” Mr Seeney said.