Malaysian officials launched the tunnelling phase of a massive China-backed rail project Thursday that will see a railway linking the country’s east and west coasts on the Southeast Asian nation's peninsular. The 50 billion ringgit (US$12 billion) 665km East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) is part of China's trillion-dollar "Belt and Road" trade move aimed at improving Beijing's links with countries across the world. A giant drill with a cutter head nearly nine metres high will be used to bore through more than 16 kilometres (9.94 miles) of dirt and rock near Genting in central Malaysian Pahang state, taking about three years to finish. The Malaysian unit of the China-owned China Communications Construction Co (CCCC) was contracted to build the project, which is expected to be completed by the end of 2026.
 
Once completed, it will ferry passengers and freight past 20 stations across four Malaysian states, from the country's main shipping hub of Port Klang to near the country's northeastern border with Thailand.
  
Construction began in 2017 but was put on hold after landmark 2018 polls led to a new government realigning the track with budget cuts. But a new administration takeover in 2020 saw the billion-dollar project rerouted back to its original alignment. IMAGES of the East Coast Rail Link project AND SOUNDBITES of Malaysia's Prime Minister