Abbot Point Port is home to the North Queensland Export Terminal (NQXT), the most northerly deepwater coal port of Australia, situated approximately 25 kilometres (16 mi) north-west of the township of Bowen (Queensland).[3] Established in 1984, it consists of a rail in-loading facility, coal handling and stockpile areas, and a single trestle jetty and conveyor connected to a berth and shiploader, located 2.75 km off-shore.[3] Coal reaches the port via the GAP railway line from the Bowen Basin Coalfields.
The Port of Abbot Point is of significant strategic value to North Queensland Bulk Ports Corporation, as there are very few locations along Queensland's eastern seaboard where deep water (>15m) is so close in-shore.[3] North Queensland Export Terminal has been operating for 35 years exporting coal.[4]
The port is planned to provide export facilities for coal mined from the Galilee Basin. The terminal has approvals to be expanded with the addition of a second wharf and shiploader as well as an additional onshore stockyard and machines, however this was tabled due to the sizing down of the Carmichael Mine. The road and railway to the port have been targeted at times by non-violent direct action by environmentalists opposed to coal exports.[9]
An environmental assessment which included a review of 16 environmental studies,[10] found the port's expansion would not have a significant impact on the Great Barrier Reef and that Greenpeace's claims regarding the expansion's impact were overstated. The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Protection Authority (GBRMPA) advised minister Greg Hunt not to approve dredging for the Abbott Point coal port expansion.[11][12] The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act was amended so that government does not have to consider expert advice before approving major developments such as mines and ports.[13]
Federal approval for the port to be used by Hancock Coal to export coal from the Alpha Coal Project was granted on 10 October 2012.[14] Conditions for the go-ahead included a seagrass offset scheme, a wetland management plan, funding for Indigenous rangers, monitoring of air and water quality, amongst a total of 60 conditions aimed primarily to protect the Great Barrier Reef.[15][16] For every 1 hectare (2.5 acres) of seagrass impacted by the port expansion, 8 hectares (20 acres) must be protected.[16]
In May 2021, it was announced that private Australian rocket launch company Gilmour Space Technologies was given the go-ahead by the Queensland Government to build a rocket launch facility in Abbot Point.[17] Gilmour Space's rocket, Eris, is expected to make its first launch from Bowen Orbital Spaceport in 2024.[18][19]
^Daniel Hurst (3 May 2011). "Asset sale yields $1.8 billion". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. Archived from the original on 25 August 2021. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
^Melissa Maddison and Megan Woodward (10 October 2012). "Burke approves new Abbot Point coal terminal". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 11 October 2012. Retrieved 11 October 2012.
