The branch of China Railway Engineering Equipment Group Co. Ltd (CREG) in the northern Chinese city of Tianjin will export next month the first Chinese-made tunnel boring machine to be sold to Portugal, the China News Service (CNS) reports.

Chinese state-run CNS says the machine will be used to dig a drainage tunnel in Lisbon, which will be 5.5 km long and excavated in two sections.

The report says the advanced control system allows the machine to bore through both soft soil and rock strata.

The machine passed an acceptance test last week, CNS says.

Separately, the Portuguese language service of state-run China Radio International reports that the acceptance test was administered online.