Australian A$57 billion Steel Project Starts Study

Australian East West Line Parks Pty Ltd started to realize the big steel project with annual 44 million tonnes of output and total A$ 57 billion of investment. The project includes 3,000 kilometers of transcontinental rail way and smelting park with total 12 blast furnaces. The firm tries to gather world major steel makers into the consortium for the project to share the infrastructure. The project leader Shane Condon said major steel makers showed positive sign for the participation. The project starts the operation in 2012 eyeing expansion to double the output capacity.

Mr. Condon held press conference on Monday in Tokyo to appeal the cost and environmental merit of the project. He said the project can improve the transport efficiency significantly by railing iron ore from west to east and coking coal from east to west and shipping pig iron or slab to other countries, not ship bulk cargo while steel makers now transport iron ore and coal from Australia to the countries with empty return trip.

The project is to link the rail road between port Hedland in Western Australia and Abbot Point port in Queensland to transport iron ore and coal to each direction. The project is also to build smelting park both at iron ore mining site in WA and Abbot Point with 6 blast furnaces each. The participant steel makers share the infrastructure and own and operate iron and steel making facilities.

Mr. Condon said the detail depends on the study but he expects the project takes A$ 12 billion for rail and smelting park and A$ 45 billion for 12 blast furnaces with annual 3.6 million tonnes of output capacity each. The project starts the feasibility study starting operation in 2012.