Adani clears hurdle

ADANI has finally stitched up funding for its massive coal mine in central Queensland.

Delayed by years of legal and environmental issues, the $16.5 billion project’s final financial hurdle – the $1.35 billion needed for the rail line – appears to be close.

Karan Adani, son of the company’s owner Gautam Adani, told Indian TV it was now finalising the rail project’s financing.

“We have all the government approvals for everything,” Mr Adani said. “We have closed the financing of the mine, the port is already operational and now we are just closing the financing of the rail.

“I think that project is about $US1 billion ($A1.35 billion).”

The news follows a major victory for the company when it recently refinanced the debt owing on its Abbot Point coal port, north of Bowen, with a South Korean company.

But despite Mr Adani’s confidence, not all environmental approvals for the mine have been resolved, with the key groundwater issue still awaiting a decision from the Federal Government.

The project was dealt a serious blow in November last year when the Palaszczuk Government said it would veto any taxpayer financing from NAIF for the rail project.

That has meant a ninemonth delay for Adani because it had to restart its financing deals.

Australian banks had also publicly refused to finance the project because of climate change concerns.

Adani’s Australian business last night said work to secure finance for the Carmichael project was “progressing well”.