China prioritizes environmental protection in new railway construction

The Xi'an-Shiyan high-speed railway, a major new transport corridor linking central and western China, has incorporated an "ecology first" development model, implementing environmental protection measures throughout its construction.

As an important part of the railway, the 8.39-kilometer Chanhe Grand Bridge in Xi'an spans the Chanhe River and surrounding ecologically sensitive areas. To help minimize the impact on the local environment, the construction team adopted and integrated innovative digital technologies.

"Through 3D modeling of bridge structures and their surrounding environment, we developed an intelligent construction management platform. This system provides holistic and multi-dimensional monitoring and data analysis, significantly mitigating the impact of construction disturbances," said Chen Hongbo, deputy director of China Railway Xi'an Group's construction department.

As the starting station of the high-speed railway, Xi'an East Station also embodies the spirit of green and low-carbon development. The station building adopts a daylighting design that combines glass curtain walls with roof skylights, making full use of natural light to reduce energy consumption.

In addition, vast arrays of solar panels have been installed on the roof to provide clean electricity for station operations.

"We've installed about 30,000 square meters of photovoltaic panels on Xi'an East Railway Station's metal roof. These panels can generate an average of 7.59 million kilowatt hours annually, meaning that around 6,325 tons of carbon emissions can be reduced. The power generated by the panels can meet most of the station's operational power needs," said Wang Lixing, project manager of China Railway Construction Group's Xi'an East Railway Station.

The railway has a designed speed of up to 350 km per hour and a total length of 257 km. It connects Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, with Shiyan in neighboring Hubei Province in the country's central region.

The line connects to the existing Wuhan-Shiyan high-speed railway, cutting the travel time between Xi'an and Wuhan, capital of Hubei, to 2 hours 41 minutes, down from the previous 4.5-hour detour route. The trip between Xi'an and Shiyan has been slashed from over 6 hours on conventional trains to barely an hour.

China prioritizes environmental protection in new railway construction

Fertilizer and food-related costs are expected to rise significantly, with fertilizer prices projected to increase by between 15 and 20 percent, while food costs could rise by around 8 percent, given Malaysia's heavy reliance on imported inputs, Economy Minister Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir said on Monday.

This is in part due to 63 percent of the country's fertilizer being imported, leaving the country's agricultural sector particularly exposed to global disruptions, Akmal told parliament.

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) have been identified as highly vulnerable due to limited financial buffers, with cash flow pressures expected to intensify as input costs rise sharply, he said, adding that the government is working to ensure the security of essential goods, control the prices of basic goods and improve the efficiency of distribution channels in order to reduce the impact of price increases.

Akmal said the government has set out a broad policy response to what it describes as a prolonged global supply crisis. Current rice stocks, including buffer reserves, are sufficient for five to six months, while supplies of essential food items such as chicken, eggs, fish, milk and fruit are adequate for at least one month.

The government's strategy is structured around four pillars: protecting citizens, stabilizing supply and prices, supporting SMEs and industry, and strengthening long-term economic resilience with targeted cash aid and fuel subsidies expected to continue.

Malaysian food prices expected to rise by 8 pct, says Malaysian official