WA unveils plan for huge iron ore white elephant

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From the ABC:

The Western Australian Government has unveiled a master plan for a multi-user, multi-commodity deepwater port in the Pilbara, which has the potential to be the biggest port in Australia.

The State Government has proposed Anketell Port be built on greenfields land about 30 kilometres east of Karratha, and said the project would be boast an eventual export capacity of more than 350 million tonnes a year.

If realised, it would be more than double the total exports through the nearby Dampier Port and 20 per cent larger than shipments at Port Hedland, which is Australia’s biggest export facility.

Although currently unfunded, the State Government has been actively planning the development of the port so it is “ready to go” for potential investors.

WA Premier Colin Barnett said access to port space was increasingly rare in the Pilbara.

“Development of Anketell Port will help unlock the potential of the West Pilbara by aiding further development of the state’s natural resources,” he said.

There ‘s really no need to repeat why but this is masterpiece of bad timing and will in all likelihood go the the way of the Dodo. It is simply not fair that it’s always left to me to rain on the parade!

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About the author
David Llewellyn-Smith is Chief Strategist at the MB Fund and MB Super. David is the founding publisher and editor of MacroBusiness and was the founding publisher and global economy editor of The Diplomat, the Asia Pacific’s leading geo-politics and economics portal. He is also a former gold trader and economic commentator at The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, the ABC and Business Spectator. He is the co-author of The Great Crash of 2008 with Ross Garnaut and was the editor of the second Garnaut Climate Change Review.