Freight Rail, Market Sectors

Adani awards $100m rail contract

Coal. Photo: Shutterstock

Adani Mining awarded a $100 million rail contract to Martinus Rail, after Martinus was 50 per cent acquired by Malaysia’s Gamuda Berhad.

Under the contract Martinus Rail will build a 200-kilometre rail link from the $2 billion Carmichael mine to Aurizon’s Central Queensland Coal Network, facilitating passage to Adani’s export facilities at Abbot Point.

Upon its 50 per cent acquisition of Martinus, Gamuda announced it would immediately begin bidding for $20 billion worth of construction projects in Australia as part of its plans to leverage Australia’s $300 billion infrastructure development pipeline. Gamuda’s joint venture partners have previously worked with the India-based Adani in Asia.

“We are keen to now get started and looking forward to partnering with numerous local Rockhampton and other regional Queensland businesses and people to get our part of the project under way,” said Martinus Rail managing director Treaven Martinus.

Adani Mining chief executive Lucas Dow said the company had now awarded more than $450 million worth of contracts for the Carmichael project, in the Galilee Basin in Central Queensland.

According to a media release from the federal minister for resources and Northern Australia, Matt Canavan, the company also announced it was establishing a business centre in Rockhampton, Central Queensland.

“[The] new Rockhampton Business Centre will support recruitment and local business contracting for its Carmichael Project mine,” said the government statement.

“I spent years fighting for the Adani project because it means delivering jobs and economic activity for regional Queensland. These announcements are more proof in the pudding,” said Canavan about the announcement.

Environmental activists have been holding weekly protests in front of the offices of companies involved in the Carmichael coal project and are expected to target Martinus Rail.