The Western Australian government has approved a 570-kilometre railway linking iron ore mines in the state with Oakajee port, a significant step forward for the troubled US$6 billion project.
The decision, announced on the state government's website, was welcomed by Murchison Metals, an Australian-listed mining company which is a shareholder in the port-rail project to ship iron ore, which has been delayed by funding difficulties.
In June, Murchison admitted it had difficulty in coming up with its US$5 billion share of the project, which prompted Western Australia premier Colin Barnett to call for Chinese firms to invest when he met China's National Development Reform Commission (NDRC) on a mainland visit last month.
The delays prompted Sinosteel to suspend an A$2 billion (HK$15.9 billion) iron ore mining project in Western Australia in June. Sinosteel is one of the key customers for the Oakajee project, with its iron ore supply critical to the development.
Barnett said Thursday's approval was a significant step in securing new infrastructure vital to Western Australia's development.
However, he told Australian media that it would not be easy to convince Chinese state firms to invest because they were unhappy about missing out in the original tender process, with Japanese conglomerate Mitsubishi chosen as the joint venture partner.