STORY: First tracks laid for Malaysia's mega rail project
SHOOTING DATE: Dec. 11, 2023
DATELINE: Dec. 12, 2023
LENGTH: 00:01:21
LOCATION: KUANTAN, Malaysia
CATEGORY: ECONOMY/SOCIETY

SHOTLIST: 
1. various of the railway construction
2. SOUNDBITE 1 (Chinese): LOKE SIEW FOOK, Malaysian Transport Minister
3. SOUNDBITE 2 (Chinese): WANG TONGZHOU, CCCC chairman
4. various of the railway construction

STORYLINE:

The East Coast Rail Link (ECRL), a mega rail project in Malaysia being built by the China Communications Construction Company (CCCC), has seen its first tracks being laid on Monday.
   
On this occasion, Malaysian Transport Minister Loke Siew Fook hailed the project for its benefits to the local economy.
   
He also said advanced track-laying equipment from China helps a lot in improving the railway's construction efficiency. 

SOUNDBITE 1 (Chinese): LOKE SIEW FOOK, Malaysian Transport Minister
"Chinese technology is very advanced, and we're very satisfied (with the construction) because it's very fast. As far as we know, the track-laying machine is expected to lay approximately 1.5 km of track per day. It's very fast."

CCCC chairman Wang Tongzhou said the installation of tracks marks another important milestone for the project.
      
SOUNDBITE 2 (Chinese): WANG TONGZHOU, CCCC chairman 
"The ECRL project is a major infrastructure project under the Belt and Road Initiative. The installation of tracks marks another important milestone for the project. It marks the transition of the project from underground construction to aboveground construction, bringing us closer to the successful completion of the ECRL project."

The ECRL runs from Malaysia's largest transport hub Port Klang and travels across the peninsula to Kelantan state in northeastern Malaysia.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Kuantan, Malaysia.
(XHTV)