Port congestion in Australia that is costing charterers about $2.5M a day has sparked a renewed offensive by the Queensland state government. The state plans a fresh spending blitz aimed at increasing throughput at Abbot Point from the present 15M tonnes a year to 25M tonnes. Queensland's government is already spending A$208M ($160.6M) on upgrading Gladstone's port and A$335M on associated work for the coal rail system; three vessels were loading at Gladstone this week and just four were waiting to berth. The state has yet to detail or give figures for Queensland's expanded anti-snarl offensive. The mining industry has accused the federal government of doing far too little to reduce port congestion (Fairplay, 17 March).
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