GVK Hancock advances Galilee Basin rail line development

The development of the Galilee Basin will give Queensland, one of the most significant pieces of regional and economic development and this application will allow meeting all regulatory requirements to support such a significant development.

The ‘Material Change of Use’ (MCU) application is the next step to finalise planning for this significant rail infrastructure development and it follows on from the grant by State environmental approval which it received in May 2012, Federal environmental approval in August 2012 and of Galilee Basin State Development Area in June 2014.

As part of the MCU application, GVK Hancock will continue to work with the landholders to ensure detailed planning, which has been presented to each specific property in the past and it will give access to homesteads, stock feeding areas and water supply.

GVK Hancock seeks consent from the landholders along with its first stage of rail corridor and contact has been established with the landholders on the issue.

Till date, the project team has undertaken an extensive assessment of the landholder engagement process for infrastructure along with approval of rail corridor connecting the southern end of the Galilee Basin with export markets.

The broad range of environmental and hydrological assessments contributed to the collaboration of an Environment Impact Statement (EIS), a Supplementary Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) and an Addendum to the SEIS for the proposed rail infrastructure.

These assessments have been taken into consideration with an unavoidable fact that any rail line from the southern end of the Galilee Basin to the coast must traverse through the flood plains of the Belyando and its tributaries at some stage.

The detailed planning and design work for rail line meets all hydrological requirements that comes under the stringent regulations put forth by the Government while crossing such tough terrains. The rail corridor also meets the required flood immunity level with drainage structures and rail formations.

The company will incorporate the parent companies’ extensive infrastructure experience that will ensure that the rail line will enable the water to flow in extreme flood events with minimal damage to infrastructure.

GVK Hancock also appointed a hydrologist to consult with the local landholders to discuss details regarding the rail model. An independent hydrologist was also hired who worked on behalf of the landholders to assure the assessments made by the company. The landholders had provided a rainfall data that reflected the flood pattern in the area, based on which, the company answered all the questions pertaining to the issue in a close out report to Queensland's Coordinator General.

The company has successfully negotiated term sheets with the landholders for around 75% of the rail corridor; it outlines the commercially viable terms for the acquisition and compensation of the land.

The company plans to co-operate with the landholders as well as the Government to commence the construction. There will also be a joint venture agreement with Aurizon to develop the required rail and port infrastructure.

The initial stage of rail development, which is approximately 310 kilometers of the proposed 500 kilometers will be constructed before connecting to the existing Aurizon infrastructure. This will allow a phased development at the Abbot Point T3 terminal to match up the volumes and a systematic ramp-up that can reduce the initial cost of infrastructure.