Mining tycoon Clive Palmer has unveiled plans to build a new coal loading port facility north of the existing facility at Abbott Point in north Queensland. This will convert what is currently a small concern into potentially the largest coal port in the world.

Abbot Point is set to be sold next year in line with the Queensland government's privatisation program. The port's current coal-loading capacity is being increased to 50 million tonnes from 21 million tonnes in the process.

The additional capacity involved in this upgrade has been allocated as part of the "missing link" railway project, under which new and current mines in the Bowen Basin will transport coal for export through Abbot Point.

The Queensland government has also approved the construction of further coal-loading facilities on another two sites beside the port.

These will be privately operated and are not part of the privatisation.

Most industry observers had predicted that these sites would be allocated to Mr Palmer's Waratah Coal and Gina Rinehart's Hancock Prospecting. The two businesses are planning large coal mines in the Galilee Basin, which is an emerging coal-mining region.

While one of the sites was granted to Hancock, the other went to BHP Billiton, effectively keeping the Palmer project out of any future capacity.

Mr Palmer, however, said yesterday that he planned to build his own coal-loading facility north of the existing port so that he did not have to depend on the future allocations.

"We're planning to put 40 million tonnes a year through there, and we'll be building our own jetty," he said.

"We've lodged the documents with the government and currently we're in the public consultation phase. We expect the whole thing to be wrapped up by the end of the year."