A file picture of a light rail system [Photo/chinanews.com]

China Railway 17 Bureau Group, a State-owned enterprise (SOE) in Shanxi province, won the bid for a light rail project in Kuala Lumpur, capital of Malaysia, on Oct 23 –– the company's first light rail project in that country.

The light rail project in Kuala Lumpur has a total contract value of 1.31 billion yuan ($1.98 billion) and is China's first municipal rail transit engineering project in Malaysia, and the company's first overseas city rail transit project paid for by means of spot exchange.

The project in Shah Alam city, Selangor state, will extend 3.25 kilometers and consist of three elevated stations for light rail, with four sections of double lines for light rail which are 2.89 kilometers in length and include civil engineering and electric installation.

China Railway 17 Bureau Group, a subsidiary of China Railway Construction Co, is one of the largest engineering contractors in the world. It has built railways, roads, buildings, communication facilities, and power infrastructure in more than 20 countries, earning 30 billion yuan in the overseas market.

The company has so far participated in the construction of city rail transit projects in some 20 cities in China, subway construction in Pakistan, as well as the new light rail project in Malaysia.

China Railway 17 Bureau Group will further partnerships with Malaysia in high-speed rail and financing and investment projects, according to Lu Peng, chairman of the company.

The company also landed a contract for Kuala Lumpur's downtown rapid rail transit project worth 345 million yuan on the same day.