Posted in Finance

Chinese company proposes to build a city on the outer islands of Baniu, raising concerns about planting flags in Australia’s backyard

 2021年2月7日

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation reports that China’s WYW Holdings plans to spend more than $2.9 billion to build a city on Daru Island in Papua New Guinea, just 50 kilometers from Australia. The Australian government is concerned about the Chinese Communist Party‘s invasion of its backyard and has said it will discuss the matter with the PNG government.

The ABC reports that according to leaked documents, Hong Kong-registered WYW Holdings plans to create a “New Daru City” on Daru Island in Papua New Guinea’s Western Province, covering an area of about 100 square kilometers, which would include an industrial zone, a seaport, a commercial district and a resort and residential area.

The Daily Mail also reported that the plan would cost A$3.9 billion (US$2.9 billion). The newspaper also pointed out that China’s desire to plant its flag in Australia’s backyard at a Time when Sino-Australian relations continue to deteriorate raises concerns that it may have ulterior motives, perhaps secretly planning to set up a naval base there.

The Guardian pointed out that although Papua New Guinea’s Western Province is located on the border, Daru Island is only 50 kilometers from Australia’s outer island Saibai Island and less than 200 kilometers from the Australian mainland, so the matter has raised security concerns in Australia.

WYW Holdings wrote to Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape in April last year that the ambitious investment and development plan covers areas such as Daru Island in the Western Province and will be carried out under a private build-operate-transfer (BOT) model. This means that the company engaged in the development can own the plan for a certain period of time.

WYW Holdings said it has already held preliminary discussions with representatives of the Western Province. However, a spokesman for Malaprop told the ABC that the prime minister had no knowledge of the matter.

Australian Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton said he was eager to discuss the matter with the Papua New Guinea government. He also stressed that Australia has a very close relationship with both the Malaprop and PNG governments.