Karan Adani, chief executive officer of Adani Ports and Special Economic Zones, told Indian television yesterday that positive progress had been made on the Queensland project.
“We have completed the financing on the mine. Our port is already operational. Now we are just closing the financing of the rail part. Once that is all done we will start,” Karan Adani, who is son of Adani owner Gautam Adani, said.
Adani, on its Australian website, added that funding for the $16 billion mine was contingent on securing finance for the rail component of the project as both are interdependent.
The Carmichael Project has received more than 112 project approvals and been successful in nine court challenges to reach this stage, according to Adani.
“We continue to work through secondary approvals, in line with our project conditions,” the company said.
Adani’s positive update on financing for the Carmichael mine and rail project comes despite a series of funding setbacks over the past year.
Australia’s major banks have openly refused to offer money to help Adani develop the controversial project.
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk last year vetoed a $1 billion federal government loan to Adani for the project.
Adani ended agreements it had with contractor, Downer EDI, for the project following Palaszczuk’s veto, opting to move forward as owner-operator of Carmichael.
The Australian Conservation Foundation today continued its opposition to the planned development in the Galilee Basin.
“These comments confirm what we have known for some time; Adani are serious about building their dirty coal mine and it is time for our elected representatives to side with the wider community and stop it,” Australian Conservation Foundation chief executive officer Kelly O’Shanassy said.
“Digging up and burning coal from the Adani mine will unleash huge amounts of climate pollution, which will accelerate damage to the Great Barrier Reef and turbo charge dangerous extreme weather events like bushfires, heatwaves and floods.