Solid Energy and Toll NZ sign Heads of Agreement
Auckland, New Zealand –Toll NZ Limited [NZSX: TRH]
Solid Energy New Zealand Ltd and Toll NZ today announced they had signed a joint Heads of Agreement relating to the
transport of coal from the West Coast of the South Island to the Port of Lyttleton.
The 13-year agreement will allow Solid Energy to move up to 3.8 million tonnes of coal per annum from 2007/08. Over the
current year 2.4 tonnes will be moved, with up to 2.7 million tonnes in 2005/06. The increase in tonnage will eventually
see the current seven trains a day between the West Coast and the Port increased to eight. The two companies are
committed to working with New Zealand Railways Corporation in the investment to address increasing the capacity and
reliability of the line.
The agreement also provides a framework for future potential agreements for the transport of Solid Energy coal on other
parts of the rail network including carrying coal to the West Coast ports of Westport and Greymouth.
Solid Energy Chief Executive Officer, Dr Don Elder, said that the company was extremely pleased to have agreed terms
with Toll and had developed a very positive relationship with the rail operator over the last year.
“The agreement is a significant milestone as it secures the future of our export coal business through the Port of
Lyttleton and allows us to maintain our competitiveness in international markets,” Dr Elder says. “It gives us the
confidence and capacity to achieve increased production volumes from our current and planned mines around the Greymouth
and Buller areas of the West Coast. We look forward to using this capacity in the near future.”
Toll NZ Chief Executive Officer David Jackson says the relationship between Solid Energy and Toll is extremely important
to both parties and through a very co-operative and open approach we have been able to reach an agreement, which is
important for both companies and the rail industry in general.
Mr Jackson describes the agreement as having a very strong foundation, which creates transparency and a new environment
to enable Toll NZ to deliver an extremely important export volume for New Zealand.