China Railway Materials Commercial Corporation (CRM) announced on Wednesday to invest 10 million Australian dollars in Australian Yilgarn Infrastructure Ltd..

In return, CRM got 15 percent of Yilgarn's shares and its deputy general manager Liu Guoping will be a board member of the Australian company.

The money, along with another 10 million Australian dollars from an infrastructure fund in Australia, will be used to develop a deepwater port at Oakajee.

Yilgarn chairman John Saunders said the commitment by the major Chinese rail infrastructure provider was a significant step forward in the company's plans to serve the expansion of iron ore mining in the region.

He said that the Mid-West rail and Oakajee deepwater port infrastructure will enable the expansion of existing and developing mines northeast and southeast of Geraldton.

Yilgarn has conducted preliminary studies and will start work early next year on detailed engineering and feasibility studies for its port and rail plans.

(Xinhua News Agency December 21, 2006)