Multinational conglomerate Adani Enterprise Ltd may have to abandon its billion-dollar proposed coalmine, rail and road project in Queensland, Australia, because of delays posed by legal hassles, The Australian reported. The proposed coalmine, if built, would be one of the world's biggest.

Although Adani had received sanction from the Queensland state government to mine coal reserves and build roads, power lines and pipelines in April, environmentalists have strongly opposed the project. According to green crusaders, the mine would cause irrevocable damage to the environment and cause climate changes. They had asked the Supreme Court of Queensland to review the state’s approval for the project.

With a court case pending in the Federal Court and at least two environmental groups threatening to appeal to the High Court, Adani said he could not wait indefinitely to begin the project. “You can’t continue just holding. I have been really disappointed that things have got so delayed,” company chairperson Gautam Adani told The Australian.

Adani believed that the approvals would take two to three years. He has already spent $3 billion buying the tenements and the port lease. He still hopes to start building the Carmichael thermal mine in the Galilee Basin next year. “If there are no more unexpected delays, the project will get financing,” he said.