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Near Gladstone at Golding Point, and considered part of Gladstone’s port, WICET is also expected to welcome its first coal carrier vessel in the late November/early December timeframe.
Gladstone Ports Corporation CEO Craig Doyle told the ABC that there would be an additional 250 vessels going through Gladstone Harbour once WICET hits its stage one nameplate capacity.
He said recruiting was underway for jobs to operate the coal terminal with an initial intake of 40 successful candidates expected, while a new tug boat facility for the port will also create jobs.
The three Curtis Island-based LNG projects, near Gladstone, will make the port busier as they come to fruition.
"We expect to see the first LNG vessel before the end of the year,” Doyle told the ABC.
"Each of the three plants will be up and running in the next 12-18 months, so there's a lot more happening as Gladstone port continues to grow."
WICET is expected to have 27 million tonnes per annum of throughput capacity by early 2015.
The initial WICET consortium comprised Glencore, Bandanna Energy, Caledon Coal, Cockatoo Coal, Aquila Resources, Yancoal, Wesfarmers and New Hope Coal.
An Australian Financial Review report into WICET’s capital structure in July said the preference shareholders of Bandanna, Aquila and Cockatoo had already sold out of the consortium, quoting unnamed sources.
