$3bn CHALCO decision expected within weeks

<p>The Port of Townsville remains confident that it is capable of handling the increased tonnage from the proposed CHALCO bauxite project, and has moved to appease concerns about the environmental impact the project might have on the area.</p> <p>The decision on which port will be home to the bauxite and alumina project is due to be made within weeks.</p> <p>CHALCO (the Chinese Aluminium Company) was short-listed as the preferred developer of what the Queensland Government has described as &#8220the biggest single investment in the history of Queensland&#8221.</p> <p>Organisers of Townsville’s bid, including the council, the port authority and local business groups used a 16-page supplement in the <em>Townsville Bulletin</em> on Saturday (May 20) to outline details of their proposal. </p> <p>The $3bn project &#8211 which includes a bauxite mine, a washing plant at Aurukun, south of Weipa and a refinery &#8211 is expected to be a massive boon for whichever port is chosen to export its alumina.</p> <p>Townsville, Abbot Point and Gladstone are all being considered to house the refinery and be responsible for exporting the 2.1mtpa of alumina it produces.</p> <p>The project would involve the extraction of up to 7.5m tonnes each year of bauxite from the massive Aurukun bauxite resource in Queensland’s far north.</p> <p>A refinery will be built near the chosen port, with construction of the refinery not due to start until 2009.</p> <p>Townsville mayor Tony Mooney said Townsville’s proposal would include strict environmental safeguards.</p> <p>Townsville will use about 5,000 ha of land earmarked for development and a dedicated transport corridor between the port and the site. </p> <p>The bauxite and alumina will be carried by conveyor belts between the refinery and the port, rather than by road or rail. </p> <p>Ports Corporation of Queensland (PCQ) has similar plans for its Abbot Point site. </p> <p>PCQ’s Gary Campbell said the existing transport corridor and surplus land made the port of Abbot Point an ideal option. </p> <p>&#8220There will be no substantial, if any, impact on residential development,&#8221 he said. &#8220It’s open land around the port area, mostly used for grazing.&#8221</p> <p>The port of Gladstone is also in the running, but the Central Queensland Port Authority would not comment on the CHALCO project. </p> <p>A spokesperson said the port had nothing to do with the project.</p> <p>CHALCO is still to submit a final proposal, due within weeks. </p> <br />