Adani Group's $16.5 billion coal mine project in Australia has hit another controversy after reports that the Indian mining giant suspended two major contractors, raising fresh speculation over funding even as the company blamed the move on delay in Government approvals.
Key project managers Parsons Brinckerhoff and South Korean construction company POSCO, also touted as an investor in the Queensland coal project, were told late last week to stop work on the Carmichael mine, rail and port project in the Galilee Basin, the Sydney Morning Herald reported on Wednesday.
The report cited company sources as saying that senior Adani executives flew to India over the weekend for talks about the future of the project involving Australia's largest coal mine. The suspension comes less than a month after Adani stood down four engineering firms - WorleyParsons, Aecon,urecon and SMC - and scores of workers involved in preparatory works on the development, which would open up Queensland's vast Galilee Basin.