In 2017, Malaysia's prime minister Najib Razak hailed the East Coast Rail Link to be built and funded by China as a "game changer" for the country's underdeveloped east coast region. A year later his government had been swept away by the election victory last May of Mahathir Mohamad who announced that he was cancelling the 680-kilometre project. After months of negotiations, though, the two countries have come up with a revised deal to resurrect the scheme. And on Monday, Mahathir gave details on how this major Belt and Road project will shape up, as Rian Maelzer reports from Putrajaya.

RIAN MAELZER PUTRAJAYA, MALAYSIA "If Malaysia's government had stuck to its guns and cancelled the East Coast Rail Link project it would have had to pay the main Chinese contractor more than 5 billion dollars in compensation with nothing to show for it."

China Communications Construction Company had already spent a considerable sum setting up base stations, importing equipment and doing preliminary works. Now the two governments have agreed to a deal, slashing around 1/3 of the original cost of some 16 billion dollars while shaving just 40 km of the original route. The ECRL will link the country's big west coast ports, to a Chinese joint-venture industrial park and port on the east coast and the underdeveloped eastern region.

MAHATHIR MOHAMAD PRIME MINISTER OF MALAYSIA "It is our belief that the ECRL will serve as a stimulus for economic growth and development, especially in the east coast, will attract investments along the railway corridor as well as generate significant employment opportunities."

The new deal also ensures that the main Chinese contractor, CCCC, will use local companies for 40 percent of the civil works, up from 30 percent previously. And there are other sweeteners.

MAHATHIR MOHAMAD PRIME MINISTER OF MALAYSIA "CCCC has agreed to participate in the operation and maintenance of the ECRL through a joint venture company and will provide technical support and share the operational risk after the project's completion."

RIAN MAELZER PUTRAJAYA, MALAYSIA "Mahathir thanked the Chinese government for being willing to renegotiate the terms of the deal, which is the biggest Belt and Road project in Southeast Asia. RM, CGTN, Putrajaya, Malaysia."