GVK Power gets environment approval for Queensland project

GVK Power gets environment approval for Queensland projectGVK Power and Infrastructure has received environmental clearance for its Alpha coal and rail project in Australian state of Queensland on Thursday.

The approval has been granted with 19 conditions to protect the environment by the authorities. The project is valued at A$10 billion or $10.4 billion. The initial approval from the state authorities is an achievement for the Indian company behind the project, which is believed to be one of the biggest coal projects in the country.

The company had earlier said that the project is the only Galilee Basin proponent with an approved Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). Australian environment minister Tony Burke said the approval included measures to protect Queensland's Great Barrier Reef and threatened species in the area.

The project is expected to create as many as 4,000 jobs at its peak and will be managed by Hancock Coal, in which GVK owns a 79 per cent stake. The remaining 21 per cent of the company is owned by Gina Rinehart, who is the richest women in the world. The Indian company had paid $1.26 billion to acquire coal assets and other related infrastructure in Australia from Hancock through group company GVK Coal Developers (Singapore).

The approval was granted after world's biggest miner, BHP Billiton scrapped two plans worth at least $40 billion in the region as the government said that the resource boom is over.