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But BBI told national media it was still assessing whether miners would be able to get enough coal to the central Queensland port to allow for the second and third stages of the expansion.
The infrastructure group said any expansion of DBCT would depend on the level of contracted, sustainable DBCT customer demand and capacity requirements.
Queensland Rail (QR) said in July it had entered into a contract with BHP Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance (BMA) that effectively committed all of the remaining 125 million tonnes per annum of rail capacity servicing DBCT and the neighbouring BMA-owned Hay Point coal terminals.
BBI said that as its annual report was going to print, QR announced it had sold an extra 4Mtpa in rail capacity, bringing the total contracted rail throughput for both DBCT and Hay Point to 129Mtpa.
In the longer term, BBI said surging global demand for Bowen Basin coal created a strong outlook for the port, which would have annual throughput of 68Mt after the first stage is completed in mid-2007.
"The surging global demand for Queensland’s Bowen Basin coal has created opportunities for DBCT and has encouraged the expansion of existing Queensland-based coal mines and investment in the development of new ones,” the group said. “The increase in mining capacity should drive demand for access to DBCT as a key export gateway.”
“BBI will be working with all stakeholders, including Queensland Rail, to ensure potential upstream capacity constraints do not limit the potential economic viability and growth of Queensland’s coal industry,” BBI chief executive Steve Boulton said.
BBI shares were down 0.27% to $A1.82 in late-morning trading yesterday.
