Participants of the launching ceremony pose for a group photo in the production base of China Railway Engineering Equipment Group Co., Ltd. in Zhengzhou, central China's Henan Province, Dec. 4, 2019. (Photo provided to Xinhua)

These two giant machines will be used to dig tunnels of Paris Metro Line 16.

ZHENGZHOU, Dec. 6 (Xinhua) -- Two large shield tunneling machines rolled off the production line Wednesday in Zhengzhou, capital of central China's Henan Province, and will be exported to France for the construction of Paris Metro Line 16.

With a diameter of 9.86 meters and an overall length of about 115 meters, the two wide earth pressure balance shield tunnel boring machines were produced by the Zhengzhou-headquartered China Railway Engineering Equipment Group Co., Ltd. (CREG).

The shield tunnel boring machine that will be delivered to Paris, Dec. 4, 2019. (Photo provided to Xinhua)

The two machines will tunnel through layers of plaster, silty clay, gypsiferous marl and limestone along the Paris Metro Line 16, which is a major part of the Grand Paris Express rapid-transit metro network and expected to be put into operation in 2023.

"CREG is the first-ever and only Chinese shield tunneling machine manufacturer to help build the Paris Metro," said Tan Shunhui, chairman of CREG.

CREG has taken the largest market share in China since 2012, and topped the world in 2017 and 2018 in terms of shield tunneling machine production and sales volume.

The company has exported its products to 20 countries and regions including Italy, Denmark, Singapore, Australia and Algeria. ■