October 07, 2008

BBI completes expansion of DBCT

The Sydney Morning Herald reported that Dalrymple Bay Coal Terminal in Queensland has completed an AUD 530 million expansion of the facility, increasing capacity to 68 million tonnes per annum.

As per report Port operator Babcock & Brown Infrastructure announced the completion of first phase expansion works at the port, increasing capacity from 59 million tonnes per annum. The facility services about 20 different customers in the Bowen Basin, including Rio Tinto Ltd, Xstrata Plc and Macarthur Coal Ltd all of which transport by rail on the Goonyella coal chain link.

Mr Eric Kolatchew BBI project director and acting CEO of DBCT in a statement said that "This major achievement will benefit both BBI and our coal mining customers. The challenge now is for the rest of the Goonyella coal supply chain to boost export performance to match DBCT's new capacity."

Infrastructure constraints have restricted the supply of coal to customers, helping to drive up the price of the bulk commodity and contributing to higher costs for mining companies. Further expansions to the facility are planned to increase the terminal's capacity to 85 million tonnes per annum.

Dalrymple Bay is the world's third largest coal export facility. =