Adani Enterprises has announced plans to build the A$4 billion ($3 billion) Carmichael mine and rail project in central Queensland, Australia. Coal from the mine will be exported to India.
“The project has final investment decision approval, which marks the official start of one of the largest single infrastructure and job-creating developments in Australia’s recent history,” chairman Gautam Adani said in a statement.
The Carmichael project is located in the remote Galilee Basin, a 95,000-square-mile expanse in the central outback.
The project has faced opposition from environment groups, which argue it will contribute to global warming and damage the Great Barrier Reef. Investors will closely monitor the development.
The company has also announced in the past few weeks contracts totaling more than A$150 million ($113 million) for railway tracks and concrete sleepers for the planned rail link between the mine and the Abbot Point port terminal.