From stop to start: Adani celebrates 10 years
Adani Australia
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n 2020, Adani Australia marked 10 years since purchasing the greenfield Carmichael Coal tenements in Central Queensland’s Galilee Basin.
Backed by a team of dedicated Australian staff, the company now has operations in solar, port, and of course the construction of the Carmichael Mine and Rail Project. Remembering beginnings The EIS process began in October 2010, and the Adani team in Australia wanted to have Queensland coal on a ship to India sometime in 2014. However, this was not as straightforward as first imagined – with consistent legal hurdles presented by activist groups and a delayed approvals process through political turmoil, among other things. The story of Adani’s first ten years in Australia celebrates the strength of individual and collective character, of 36
BBMC Yearbook 2020
regional communities and of the resolve and spirit of the people who live in those communities. It celebrates how Adani has stayed true to its purpose and promise to supply Queensland coal to developing countries as part of a responsible and sustainable energy strategy, while supporting communities and economic growth in regional Australia. Delivering on the promise 12 months on from final approvals, the Carmichael Mine and Rail project is moving ahead with speed. Construction of the Carmichael Project’s roads, railway, accommodation camps and mine infrastructure has been completed or is well underway. Workers from Townsville and Rockhampton
arrive daily by air to the new Labona airstrip. The company’s ability to see off the activists’ challenges over the last decade rested to a large extent on the common sense of everyday Australians. They could see through the myths the activists used to distort the facts. In return, three years on from the launch of its innovative regional content strategy, Adani has made concrete the promise of jobs, skills and economic strength for regional Queensland. More than 2,000 people have been employed and more than AUD1.5 billion of contracts have been awarded to like-minded individuals, small businesses and large organisations in just over 12 months since the project’s final approvals were granted.
In the decade since Adani started investing in Australia the company has encountered many naysayers, opposition voices and challenges regarding governance, legal and environmental approvals.
