Agencies
Sydney
A giant coal project under development in Australia by India's Adani Enterprises is facing further delays over environmental permitting, Australia's Environment Minister Greg Hunt said on Tuesday.
Australia had yet to receive assurances that endangered species would be protected if Adani is reissued with an environmental permit to construct its Carmichael coal mine, Hunt said.
A court on August 5 temporarily blocked progress on the $7 billion project in the inland Galilee Basin following a claim Adani failed to take into account the welfare of the yakka skink and an ornamental snake.
The Environment Department at the time said Hunt would reconsider his approval in six to eight weeks pending new submissions by Adani.
Adani, which wants to ship 40 million tonnes (MT) of coal a year to India, has battled opposition from environmental groups since starting work on the project five years ago.
The project has been repeatedly delayed by court actions by environmentalists, difficulties in obtaining finance and concern over the economics of the project, so much so that Adani recently halted engineering work.
"We always had plans for the ornamental snakes and lizards found there," a source close to the Adani project said.
Proponents argue the Carmichael mine is needed if Prime Minister Narendra Modi is to keep a promise to bring electricity to hundreds of millions of people living off the grid. Critics are concerned greenhouse gases from burning coal will hinder efforts to combat global warming.
Several French and German banks have said they will not provide financing for coal mining in the Galilee Basin, while Standard Chartered and Commonwealth Bank of Australia pulled out of the project in August.
Adani, which estimates its project will generate more than A$22 billion ($15.6 billion) in taxes and royalties, has yet to line up funding but is sticking to a late 2017 start date.
