Visitors wait to enter Shaolin Temple in Dengfeng, Henan province, during the National Day holiday last year. ZHU XINGXIN/CHINA DAILY

A report on abc.net.au quoted Gash as saying that the Shoalhaven council is pleased with the outcome of the Shaolin project and looks forward to moving to the next stage.

"The money from China has been transferred to the Shaolin Temple Foundation, and we have received checks for the full amount," Gash said. "That will allow the project to finally move forward."

Patrick Pang, a Shaolin Foundation representative who has worked on the project since 2006, said the abbot had considered withdrawing many times during the past nine years of negotiations.

"It is the Shoalhaven mayor, the council and local residents that have made this project go ahead," Pang said.

Sun Ruqi, a senior official at the Henan Provincial Commission of Ethnic and Religious Affairs, said Shaolin Temple has increased its influence at home and abroad by setting up many overseas centers in the past decade.