The West Australian reported that the most senior Chinese official to visit the barren Oakajee port site since the USD 6 billion venture hit a funding brick wall says the Middle Kingdom is frustrated that its many iron ore mines in the Mid West have been stranded by the project's delay.
However, it remains unclear when or if talks between the Chinese state backed mining companies and Japan's Mitsubishi, which lost its exclusive right to develop the port last December, will be resolved.
Ms Wang Yiner general of Consul said that her country was keen to expand investment in the Mid West, but it remained concerned by delays to Oakajee.
Mr Yiner said that China was left frustrated after investing millions in stalled mining projects across the region.
She said that "China is concerned about the progress of the Oakajee project because we have so many mine sites here. We hope this project can be developed as fast as possible."
Madame Wang remained tight lipped on negotiations with Mitsubishi, saying the Chinese Government did not want to get in the way of what was meant to be a business deal between Australian and Chinese companies.
Mr Duncan Calder president of China Australia Business Council WA said that challenges with the Oakajee development were big but could still be addressed.
Mr Calder said that "Oakajee is planned to be a JV based or multi-user facility. That presents a significant financing challenge for a large port development when initial users will only utilize a portion of the final port capacity."
He said that "One view amongst some Chinese stakeholders is the current structure of having a link between mine owner and infrastructure provider can be problematic if different investor groups want to take equity in one but not the other."
