Surat Basin Infrastructure Corridor (SBICSDA)

A new rail corridor is proposed in the Surat Basin region to connect the existing Western Railway and Moura Railway systems. The rail corridor will support the development of new mines in the Surat Basin by enabling the transport of coal via the network to the Port of Gladstone for export.

Surat Basin Rail Joint Venture, a private consortium, has been granted an exclusive mandate by the Queensland Government to develop the project. Under the terms of the exclusive mandate, the state will acquire the corridor for the railway and lease it to the Surat Basin Rail Joint Venture for construction and operation of the railway.

As the first step in this process, on 24 November 2011 the Governor in Council approved a Regulation to declare the SBICSDA under the State Development and Public Works Organisation Act 1971 (SDPWO Act). The Development Scheme for the SBICSDA was adopted on the same date.

The corridor is approximately 214 kilometres in length and runs between Wandoan and Banana. The proposed route was identified following analysis of a range of geographic, social, cultural and environmental criteria and the ongoing refinement of the railway design.

Maps of the Surat Basin Infrastructure Corridor State Development Area (SBICSDA):

Land acquisition

The SDPWOA Act authorises the Coordinator-General to acquire land or an interest in land within an state development area in order to establish an infrastructure corridor.

The land to be acquired for construction and operation of the railway will be narrower than the wider SBICSDA corridor. The Coordinator-General has commenced the acquisition process for the corridor.

In all cases, the Office of the Coordinator-General will work directly with affected landowners on a case-by-case basis to assess fair and reasonable compensation.

Development scheme

A development scheme is a planning tool administered by the Office of the Coordinator-General, on behalf of the Coordinator-General, to guide land use in an SDA.

Under the development scheme for the SBICSCA, the Coordinator-General assumes responsibility for assessing land use proposals (material change of use), including infrastructure proposals, for the SBICSDA in consultation with other relevant agencies and local governments. Where there are existing uses of the land immediately before the development scheme commences, these uses may generally continue under the development scheme.

Development scheme for the Surat Basin Infrastructure Corridor State Development Area (PDF, 1.77 MB).

Material change of use applications are subject to fees. For more information, read the Guideline for material change of use application fees (PDF,141 KB).

Further information

For further information: