WeChat official account "China Communications Construction" reported on July 14 that on July 12, the tunnel breakthrough ceremony of the East Coast Rail Project (hereinafter referred to as "ECR Project") was held in Bandar Baharu, Pahang, Malaysia. This project is a flagship project of the China-Malaysia "Belt and Road Initiative". So far, all 41 tunnels along the project have been fully broken through.

The Minister of Transport of Malaysia, Loh Sze Fung, and the Counselor of the Commercial Office of the Chinese Embassy in Malaysia, Sun Shuqiang, attended the event and delivered speeches.

The Genting Tunnel is located in the Titiwangsa Mountains, with a total length of 16.39 kilometers and a maximum burial depth exceeding 750 meters. It is a key control project of the ECR Project and will become the longest railway tunnel in Southeast Asia after its completion.

The China Communications Construction construction team used their independently developed "Genting No. 1" and "Genting No. 2" hard rock tunnel boring machines (TBM) combined with drilling and blasting methods to overcome the traditional construction bottlenecks of long tunnels, minimizing the impact of construction activities on the mountainous environment and firmly protecting Malaysia's green mountains and clear waters.

In his speech, Loh Sze Fung stated that the ECR Project follows the principles emphasized by the Malaysian government for sustainable and balanced development, optimizing the tunnel route of the project, reducing the impact on ecosystems and natural habitats, and achieving development and environmental protection in parallel. The Ministry of Transport of Malaysia expressed satisfaction with the construction achievements of the Genting Tunnel. The ECR Project is hailed as a "transformer" that reshapes the transportation and logistics pattern of the Malay Peninsula. Once completed, it will promote Malaysia's international trade, greatly complement the "road to rail" plan, and become the backbone of railway connections on the Malay Peninsula.

Sun Shuqiang thanked the Malaysian government and the society for their strong support for the project's construction and expressed respect to all engineering workers. He stated that recently, President Xi Jinping of China and Premier Li Qiang of the State Council visited Malaysia successively, and the two governments issued a joint statement on building a high-level strategic China-Malaysia community with a shared future. Both sides agreed to actively advance the construction of the ECR Project and strengthen the economic growth engine of the China-Malaysia community with a shared future. The construction of the Genting Tunnel is a microcosm of the ECR Project. As a key link in regional connectivity, this project has opened up new space for deepening China-ASEAN cooperation.

At the ceremony, representatives of the "Malaysia Records" presented the certification certificate to the project owner representative, to commend the important records set by the ECR Project in tunnel construction. This tunnel has set two national records in the "Malaysia Records": the longest railway tunnel and the railway tunnel with the highest coverage layer in Malaysia.

The ECR Project is a flagship project of the China-Malaysia "Belt and Road Initiative". The project line is about 640 kilometers long and is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2026. The line starts from Kota Bharu in Kelantan and ends at Port Klang in Selangor, passing through Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang, Negeri Sembilan, Selangor, and the Federal Territory of Putrajaya, where it intersects at the Putrajaya Central Station, facilitating passengers to travel to Kuala Lumpur International Airport or the east coast areas.

The East Coast Rail Project will become the main traffic artery between the east and west coasts, providing the public with a comfortable and convenient mode of travel and freight, promoting the development of commerce, logistics, trade, and tourism along the railway line, improving people's livelihoods, promoting regional development, and enhancing the competitiveness of local industries.

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7526931495001391657/

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