Coal terminal extension plans downsized

LEONARD NEILL
WORK WILL begin on the Richards Bay Coal Terminal expansion next month after the board of directors gave the green light at a meeting last week. Red tape and uncertainty surrounding BHP Billiton’s proposal to sell off some of its coal export entitlement led RBCT to put some of its plans on hold in the harbour, but it will now go ahead and deal with problems as they are encountered. The scope of expansion has now been reduced from 92m tons a year of exports to 91m tons. Work is expected to be completed during the second half of 2008. “Efforts to get environmental clearance on certain areas of the land we require have proved a stumbling block,” says RBCT executive chairperson Kuseni Dlamini. “We are also facing difficulties with the slow response from government agencies in getting a lease agreement completed.” Meanwhile BHP Billiton is considering selling a portion of its export entitlement. RBCT had planned to expand capacity by 28% to 92 million metric tons from its present 72m tons by July 2008. “We have secured R1billion to pay for the expansion but environmental authorities have only granted the terminal an additional 6.4 hectares of land on which to build instead of the 13 hectares requested, saying part of the additional land houses endangered white mangrove trees,” said Dlamini. An appeal has been lodged, he says, claiming this as ‘undesirable delay’. A further hold-up relates to request to have the 13ha added onto RBCT’s existing 36 year lease with National Ports Authority (NPA). This has also become ‘bogged down’ by red tape.