Gladstone Ports Corporation Ltd
at 3,000 tph. But this did not happen at random. During the early 1950s the port transformed from a declining primary industry export base (handling cattle, etc) to the multimillion-tonne export centre it is today. GPC assumed a unique role in 1954 when it pioneered bulk coal handling in Queensland— not only did it develop the facilities, but it opted to operate them, a role it continues today on a vastly expanded scale. The three ports handle the export of resources from Central Queensland and of finished products from local industries, notwithstanding the global trade downturn, which knocked 4.3 per cent off expected coal export volumes for example. Coal exports in
Corporate Protection Australia Corporate
Protection
Australia
(CPA)
is
a
specialist, dynamic and highly professional security
organisation
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in
the provision of practical, effective security solutions ensure our standing at the forefront of industry. CPA supplies professional security services exclusively to the maritime, mining and critical infrastructure industries. Corporate Protection Australia is pleased to be affiliated with the Gladstone Ports Corporation (GPC) for the past three years and currently is GPC’s site security provider.
Gladstone is Queensland’s largest multi-commodity port, housing the world’s fourth largest coal export terminal 2009/10 were up 7.5 per cent on the previous year’s figures, reaching a record 60.4 million tonnes. As the effects of the downturn start to diminish, business is expected to become even brisker in the current financial year, when the Port of Gladstone is forecast to handle a total of 89.8 million tonnes of cargo, an impressive 7.8 per cent increase on last year. Trade growth in 2010/11 is expected to come primarily from the coal industry, with coal exports forecast to reach 67.0 million tonnes. The ever-increasing demand for coal from India and China should see sustained growth in this important part of GPC’s trade. A multibillion-dollar liquefied natural gas (LNG) project on Curtis Island has won approval from the Queensland State Government. This has diverted GPC from coal as its central focus, and given it another completely new industry to consider. While the corporation does not intend to miss any opportunity to fulfil the needs of its
powerful coal mining customers, keeping a close eye on the mining companies’ proposal for a new coal terminal at Wiggins Island, it is now working closely with the LNG sector. LNG, highly compressed methane which can be piped in from coal mines, landfill and other sources, is seen by many as the automotive fuel of the future, encouraged by many cities as a pollution-free way of keeping traffic on the roads. As the host port for this new industry, it is now developing protocols for the safe movement of LNG ships in Gladstone harbour. The Wiggins Island Coal Terminal (WICT) and the imminent major LNG export hub on Curtis Island stimulated GPC to prepare to develop the Western Basin in the Port of Gladstone into the most significant industrial port precinct in Australia. Under the GPC
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