ASCIANO has entered into long-term contracts with Rio Tinto and Xstrata which will allow it to haul coal exports by rail in Queensland starting early 2010.
The ten-year contracts can be optionally extended if required by the clients. The agreements stipulate Pacific National will haul over 14Mt of coal per annum, servicing both the Goonyella and Blackwater systems.
Built into the contracts are reciprocal performance indicators which are designed to ensure coal throughput is optimised throughout the life of the contract.
The agreement has prompted Asciano into investing around $380m in new rolling stock and infrastructure so it can handle the contracted volumes. A further $200m will be invested to cater for future growth in capacity. This will allow the materials handling company to service other coal companies.
Queensland coal exports are expected to grow from 185Mt per annum currently to over 300Mt per annum by 2015 and 380Mt per annum by 2020.
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