The program to build the new Kooragang No. 7 coal berth will create hundreds of construction jobs and add 20 million tonnes a year to PWCS's export capacity, taking it to about 130 million tonnes a year.

But PWCS also had bad news yesterday when it announced that delays to coal-loading during January gave it no choice but to cut access to the port during February.

PWCS general manager Graham Davidson said January was "an unusually disappointing" month, with various delays limiting exports to 8 million tonnes from a budgeted 9.7 million tonnes.

With 58 ships already waiting an average 16 days to tie up at the Kooragang and Carrington loaders, Mr Davidson said the access cut was "regrettable but necessary in order to keep demurrage [late-loading] costs as low as possible".

He said some of the shortfall had been PWCS's fault but other factors, including adverse weather, power supply failures and vessel delays, were out of its hands.

"We expect that new equipment and power-source arrangements coming on-line at PWCS during the coming months will improve reliability," Mr Davidson said.

PWCS chairman Michael Harvey said after a board meeting yesterday that the $670 million approved for the expansion would take the company's total spending on coal-loading infrastructure to more than $1.6 billion across 12 years.

He said the work would include a new 330-metre berth (K7), extensions to two coal stockpiling areas, the replacement of two coal stackers and the removal of redundant stackers and the building of new coal conveyers.

Mr Harvey said the expansion was part of the long-term industry expansion plan that came into force on January 1 after two years of talks with the State Government.

"PWCS played a leading role with industry participants and the State Government seeing the long-term contractual framework to fruition, and the onus is now on us to keep building new terminal infrastructure as quickly and efficiently as possible," Mr Harvey said.

"Given that PWCS has signed contracts with producers, we are in a far better position to expand terminal infrastructure in a more accurate and timely manner."