Engineering group Monadelphous says it's not been properly paid for work on a Queensland coal terminal, and accuses the project owners of unfairly taking almost $20 million of its money.
Monadelphous says it will launch legal action against the owners of the Wiggins Island Coal Export Terminal at Gladstone over the "unwarranted and unusual" withdrawal of $19.46 million in bank guarantees provided by the engineering firm and its partners.
"Having taken advice, Monadelphous intends to promptly initiate legal proceedings to recover monies called by WICET, and seek appropriate damages," Monadelphous said in a statement to the ASX on Thursday.
Monadelphous, involved in the construction of the terminal since 2012, has lodged claims with the project owners and Queensland's Building and Construction Industry Payment Agency for additional payment.
It says the payment claim relates to changes in the scope and nature of the work it was required to carry out.
In response, it says the terminal's owners have claimed to be owed money based on a number of backcharges and deductions.
Monadelphous does not expect the drawdown of its bank guarantee to have a material impact on its earnings.
Comment has been sought from the Wiggins Island Coal Export Terminal.
