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ck laying machine 2. Various Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah and QueenTunku Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah inspecting and track laying machine 3. Close of Sultan Abdullah 4. Close of machine with sign reading (English) "Track Laying Machine" 5. Various of track laying machine in operation 6. Wide of track laying machine from front 7. Signage (English) China Communications Costruction 8. Malaysian Transport Minister Anthony Loke Siew Fook giving speech 9. SOUNDBITE (Malay) Anthony Loke Siew Fook, Malaysian Transport Minister: “This ECRL (East Coast Rail Link) project which is part of the Belt and Road Initiative has created a win-win situation for Malaysia and China. After successful negotiations between the two countries back in 2019, we have come to an agreement that at least 40% of all civil works in this ECRL project would involve local companies.” 10. China Communications Constructions Company logo 11. Various locomotives 12. Wide of construction site STORYLINE: Malaysia’s King Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah officiated the start of the track-laying process of the ECRL or East Coast Rail Link in his home state of Pahang. The ECRL is a joint Malaysia-China rail project that links the east coast of Malaysia to its more developed west coast and is projected to spur an increase in trade and tourism boosting the economies of the states that it connects. As part of China's Belt and Road initiative, the project spans 665 kilometers (413 miles) and crosses four states - Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang and Selangor. Construction began in August 2017 and is due for completion in 2025. The joint venture between China Communications Construction Company (CCC) and Malaysia Rail Link is estimated to cost more than 15 billion US dollars. The project faced cancelation after then Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad criticized the project calling it lopsided. On 3 July 2018, the Malaysia Rail Link (MRL) instructed China Communications Construction Company (CCCC) to suspend all works under the engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning contract (EPCC) of the ECRL project. The suspension was then lifted a few months later after the signing of a supplementary agreement between MRL and CCCC in April 2019 on the revised construction cost and realignment of the southern route of the rail link. AP video shot by Syawalludin Zain =========================================================== Clients are reminded to adhere to all listed restrictions and to check the terms of their licence agreements. For further assistance, please contact the AP Archive on: Tel +44(0)2074827482 Email: [email protected]. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Archive Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/APArchives ​​ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/APNews/ You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/6e60205320284666b450eba1bc2fed5b