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Australia Extends Approval for India's GVK A$6.5 Billion Coal Project
Australia announced on Tuesday that it would delay approval of the approximately A$6.5 billion Alpha coal project of Indian infrastructure giant GVK Power & Infrastructure Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as GVK) in the Galilee Basin in Queensland, the country's main coal-producing area.The Queensland government submitted an application to the Australian government last week, but Environment Minister Tony Burke refused to approve the project on the grounds that it might endanger the Great Barrier Reef.
"The Alpha project will bring considerable economic benefits. It is expected to create 1,000 jobs after completion, with an annual coal output of approximately 30 million metric tons, but it cannot be at the expense of natural resources such as the Great Barrier Reef. I will continue to work with GVK and The Australian government will discuss it," Tony Burke said.
Queensland Premier Campbell Newman believes that Tony Burke is willing to cut off the development of Queensland's resource industry in order to cater to green environmental groups.
Campbell Newman said: "Once the Alpha project jointly owned by GVK and the world's richest woman, Gina Rinehart, is put into production, it will bring an annual income of A$1 billion to Queensland."
In recent years, with the mining of coal resources in Australia and the development of ports and shipping industries, more and more marine life are on the verge of extinction, and the Great Barrier Reef, a world heritage site, has also been seriously damaged.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) issued a report last weekend recommending that Canberra take active actions to protect Australia's Great Barrier Reef. In response, Campbell Newman responded: "We will try our best to protect the environment, but we do not want to see it affect Queensland's economic development."
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