Regional Coal: Dalrymple Bay coal terminal ordered to cut fees by 17%

The Queensland Competition Authority has ordered Prime Infrastructure Ltd. to cut its Dalrymple Bay coal terminal charge by 17 percent to A$1.72 per tonne, a move that could aid plans to expand the port to meet booming Chinese demand for Australian coal, agencies reported.

The competition authority's final decision was less harsh on Prime than its draft ruling last October to cut the charge by 26 percent.

The state watchdog set the infrastructure charge based on a weighted average cost of capital of 9.02 percent, up from its draft proposal of 8.2 percent, with an 11.8 percent return on equity.(*)