The first new Australian coal port in 25 years could be built in Queensland.

Premier Anna Bligh, who made the announcement last week, says the three proposals - for the Bowen, the Galilee and Surat coal basins - could deliver a "quantum leap" for Queensland's coal industry.

"These projects could see this state fully harness the opportunities the resources boom can offer by delivering a 40% increase in our coal exporting capacity," she says.

The first and largest of the three projects under consideration by the state government is the AUD5.3 billion Galilee Coal proposal by Waratah Coal.

"This extraordinary project consists of a new mine near Alpha with the potential to produce 25 million tonnes of thermal coal for export per annum," says Bligh.

"A new Australian coal port - the first in a quarter of a century - would be built near Shoalwater Bay between Rockhampton and Mackay with a capacity of up to 100 million tonnes of coal per annum.

"A new 500km rail line - reaching from the Galilee Basin to the new port at Shoalwater Bay - would open this region to coal exports for the first time."

The premier says Defence Force land is being targeted for the project so that adjacent Byfield National Park would not be affected.

The second proposal is the Bowen Basin Growth Project consisting of two new mines at Daunia and Caval Ridge and an expansion of the existing Gooyella Riverside Mine north of Moranbah.

"This BHP Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance proposal would boost coal exports in the area by about 20 million tonnes," says Bligh.

She adds that the third proposal - for a 30 million tonnes-a-year open-cut coal mine near Wandoan by a consortium led by Xstrata Coal - was declared a significant project in December last year.

The co-ordinator-general expects to release draft terms of reference for the environmental impact statements for the new proposals by late September.