Opportunity awaits
The Abbot Point State Development Area (SDA) facilitates large-scale industrial and port-related development of regional, state and national significance.
Declared in 2008, the 16,885-hectare Abbot Point SDA is a defined area of land ideal for development that requires a large footprint and separation from sensitive receptors.
Offering close proximity to a port, it’s adjacent to the Port of Abbot Point, one of Queensland's priority ports.
The Port of Abbot Point currently has a coal export capacity of 50 million tonnes per annum. It comprises:
- rail in-loading facilities
- coal handling and stockpiling areas
- a single trestle jetty and conveyor connecting to:
- 2 offshore berths
- 2 ship-loaders which are located 2.8 kilometres offshore.
Benefits
- Land suited to large-scale, large-footprint industry
- Access to the Port of Abbot Point
- Access to rail and roads, including the Bruce Highway
- Considerable distance from urban areas
- Planning processes targeted for industrial development
- Efficient processing of applications and requests
- Access to a skilled workforce in the town of Bowen, located directly south-east of the Abbot Point SDA
- Best practice land-use planning and management, ensuring land and infrastructure assets remain attractive to existing occupants and potential investors
- State ownership of some of the land
- Concentration of industrial development in selected areas, thereby minimising or avoiding:
- environmental impacts
- loss of amenity
- infrastructure duplications
- transport conflicts
Location
The Abbot Point SDA is in North Queensland, about 20km north-west of Bowen.
Industry suitability
Industries suitable for the Abbot Point SDA include:
- large-scale, value-adding industrial development
- bulk mineral resource unloading and stockpiling facilities
- mineral processing
- integrated steel mill
- liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility
- fuel storage and associated infrastructure
- extractive industries.
Industries already established in the Abbot Point SDA include:
- Abbot Point coal terminal
- Gilmore Space’s Bowen Orbital Spaceport
- Hillery Quarry
- Bowen Rail Company Kaili Provisioning Yard.
Planning and development
The Abbot Point SDA is managed by the Coordinator-General. It supports economic development in a way that considers environmental, cultural and social values, as well as existing industry and surrounding infrastructure within the region.
Industry precincts within the Abbot Point SDA includes land designated for:
- industry
- port facilities
- port expansion.
Other precincts within the Abbot Point SDA provide for:
- restricted development
- infrastructure and corridors
- environmental management and materials transportation.
The Abbot Point SDA regulation map (
1.2 MB) defines the boundary of the declared Abbot Point SDA.
The Abbot Point SDA designation map ( 511.8 KB) forms part of the development scheme and identifies the precincts within the Abbot Point SDA.
The Abbot Point SDA Development Scheme ( 3.0 MB) is a regulatory document that controls planning and development within the Abbot Point SDA. The current version was approved in November 2014.
The development scheme contains a development assessment framework for making, assessing and deciding applications and requests relating to development within the Abbot Point SDA.
The development scheme is supported by a public consultation policy ( 136.0 KB) that provides information on matters the Coordinator-General may consider when determining whether public consultation of an SDA application is required.
The Coordinator-General assesses and decides all SDA applications and requests within the Abbot Point SDA including:
- material change of use
- reconfiguring a lot.
The Whitsunday Regional Council is responsible for assessing and deciding other assessable development such as operational work.
Understand how to make an SDA application or request including pre-lodgement consideration and the relevant fees and access the online application form.
First approved by the Governor in Council in June 2008, the development scheme has been amended numerous times.
Previous versions of the Abbot Point SDA Development Scheme:
- Abbot Point SDA Development Scheme (September 2012) ( 299.8 KB)
- Abbot Point SDA Development Scheme (June 2008) ( 207.2 KB)
Previous versions of the maps:
- Abbot Point SDA regulation (boundary) map 2008 ( 866.7 KB)
- Abbot Point SDA designation (precinct) map 2008 ( 809.5 KB)
A significant portion of land within the Abbot Point SDA is owned by the state government.
State-owned land includes approximately:
- 3,322 hectares owned by the Coordinator-General
- 6,328 hectares owned by the Minister for Economic Development Queensland (EDQ).
The Coordinator-General's land holdings include land for:
- multi-user infrastructure corridors
- industrial development
- buffer areas.
View the Abbot Point SDA land ownership map ( 353.6 KB).
Contact the Office of the Coordinator-General on 1800 001 048 or via sdainfo@coordinatorgeneral.qld.gov.au for more information on the land owned by the Coordinator-General.
Visit the EDQ Industrial website to view industrial land available for sale and lease within the Abbot Point SDA from the Minister for Economic Development Queensland.
Further information
Contact the Office of the Coordinator-General on 1800 001 048 or via sdainfo@coordinatorgeneral.qld.gov.au for further information on the Abbot Point SDA.