Australia leases world\\\'s biggest coal port

An Australian and Chinese consortium on Wednesday won a 98-year lease on the world's biggest coal export port for Aus$1.75 billion dollars (US$1.62 billion), the New South Wales government said. New South Wales Premier Mike Baird said some Aus$1.5 billion raised from the sale of the lease of Newcastle Port, north of Sydney, would be redirected into state infrastructure. "This momentous result exceeds all expectations," Baird said of the deal, which is reportedly worth more than twice the Aus$700 million the government had previously hoped to raise from the sale. "Transactions such as this bring enduring benefits to communities and the economy, and build on the NSW government's successful track record in recycling mature state-owned assets to deliver major infrastructure projects," according to AFP.