New South Wales Ports Minister Joe Tripodi said the coal industry agreement would provide certainty for billions of dollars of infrastructure and mine development.

He said the deal would support 16,000 existing jobs and 25,000 new jobs by 2016.

“This agreement between government and the two coal terminal operators means for the first time Hunter coal exporters will have access to long-term export contracts,” Tripodi said.

“This will give industry the confidence to double export capacity over the next six years, generating an estimated $500 million in additional coal royalties each year.”

In addition to recent federal government investment commitments to double rail network capacity in the Hunter Valley, Tripodi said the agreement would see an estimated $5 billion invested in new port and rail infrastructure over the next four years.

He said construction work alone would create an average of 4100 jobs over the next five years.

Minister for the Hunter Jodi McKay said the agreement would ensure Newcastle and the Hunter Valley remained a powerhouse for the Australian economy for decades to come.

Under the unanimously agreed plan, Port Waratah Coal Services will be able to lease additional government land on Kooragang Island to build a fourth coal loading terminal, T4, to meet further projected increases in demand.

PWCS has a feasibility study for T4 underway.

Newcastle Coal Infrastructure Group’s $1.3 billion export terminal is under construction, with the first shipment to be loaded by the end of March 2010.

The export agreement allows for long-term contracts to underpin investment in terminal capacity at Newcastle and has triggers requiring terminals to build new capacity on demand.

The agreement will also help guarantee access for new entrants and expanding producers and is aimed to help create more planning certainty for the Hunter Valley coal industry.

PWCS and NCIG signed the agreement on behalf of the Hunter Valley coal producers – BHP Billiton’s Hunter Valley Energy Coal, Coal & Allied, Xstrata Coal, Anglo Coal Australia, Integra Coal (Vale Australia), Peabody Pacific, Centennial Coal, Austar (Yancoal Australia), Felix Resources, Gloucester Coal, Whitehaven Coal, Donaldson Coal, Bloomfield and Idemitsu.

In the meantime, Tripodi said a request had been lodged with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission to reinstate short-term export arrangements while the ACCC considered the new export agreement.

The ACCC’s authorisation of the capacity-balancing system provides immunity to port operators from potential court action on operations that could be deemed anti-competitive under the Trade Practices Act.