THE state government has rejected mining magnate Nathan Tinkler’s plans to build a $2.5billion coal-loader on the former BHP steelworks site at Mayfield.
NSW Premier Barry O’Farrell said an assessment of the proposal had determined its potential benefits were outweighed by possible adverse impacts.
Nathan Tinkler, who is chairman of Hunter Ports, said last night the government had relied on advice from parties closely associated with historical infrastructure.
He described the existing Terminal 3 coal-loader at Kooragang Island as Newcastle’s ‘‘black eye’’.
He said the Port Waratah Coal Services (PWCS) proposal, which involves building another coal-loader (Terminal 4), would compound Newcastle’s infrastructure problems.
“The people of the Hunter and Newcastle clearly voted for change and are now being asked to accept that coal will forever be railed through the middle of Newcastle suburbs and the townships of the Hunter Valley,’’ Mr Tinkler said.
Hunter Ports’ proposal, to be built on the 100hectare former BHP site, would have had a capacity of 100million tonnes a year.
With a deep water frontage, no dredging of the Hunter River was required. Coal trains would be removed from suburban Mayfield, the Tourle Street bridge would be developed into a dual-lane crossing and Cormorant Drive along Kooragang Island would be widened.
‘‘Our airport will continue to be strangled by a single-lane road and bridge, which PWCS and NSW Infrastructure has declared as sufficient in its development assessment of T4,’’ Mr Tinkler said.
Mr Tinkler had also promised a $20million-a-year community trust that would provide money for community infrastructure.
The Hunter Ports project was competing with the $5billion, 120million tonne a year Terminal 4 proposal.
The terminal, which would be owned by Rio Tinto, Xtrata and other coal companies, requires the dredging of 300metres of the river to a depth of 15metres.
Hunter Ports managing director Steve Van Barneveld said the organisation was considering its response, but it would continue to explore options for a coal terminal at Mayfield as this is the ‘‘only site that can provide such environmental, social and financial benefits’’.
‘‘This is not end of the road, we remain confident and we will continue to talk to the community and to the government,’’ he said.
Yesterday’s rejection came less than two weeks after Mr Tinkler and Hunter Ports executives discussed the project with high-level government officials in Sydney.
Mr O’Farrell said yesterday the government wanted to maintain the existing long-term strategy for developing a diversified Newcastle harbour.
This included making it available for multiple commodities and retaining the commercial framework for the Hunter Valley coal chain.
‘‘The government is keen to provide certainty for coal producers so we can encourage them to invest in infrastructure and expand our growing export market,’’ he said.
Newcastle MP Tim Owen said a disappointed Nathan Tinkler had phoned him after yesterday’s decision.
‘‘I can sympathise with what he was trying to achieve with the project – there were certainly some benefits, such as the community trust,’’ he said.
Mr Owen said he had been lobbied strongly by both those in favour and against the project.
Port Waratah Coal Services said the Hunter’s coal industry now had the certainty it needed to maximise exports in accordance with the region’s robust export plan.
“As part of that plan, the industry very clearly asked PWCS to deliver Terminal 4 to provide the next tranches of coal-loading capacity,” the organisation’s chief executive Hennie du Plooy said.
Mr du Plooy described the Hunter Ports proposal as an ‘‘incomplete concept’’, which had not been costed or modelled against the overall coal chain.
Hunter Business Chamber chief executive Kristen Keegan said it was essential the government now provided certainty of investment in the coal supply chain and port related infrastructure.
‘‘The T4 proposal is still going through the planning approval process at the moment, but what is vital is that appropriate capacity is approved in a timely manner,’’ she said.
The chamber also wanted a commitment about the future of the former BHP site.
Correct Planning and Consultation for Mayfield Group spokesman John L Hayes said: ‘‘We were very concerned when we learned that six government departments had given Mr Tinkler a Rolls Royce reception,’’ he said.
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