China's State-owned railway company will participate in Moscow's subway construction, the first time Russia has entered into a joint venture with a foreign company in subway construction.

China Railway Construction Corporation (CRCC) told the Global Times on Thursday that the subway's base is nearing completion, and five shield tunneling machines, mainly used for construction under extremely cold conditions, had recently arrived in Moscow.

This portion of the subway, spanning 3.8 kilometers, is located at Moscow's southwest, which consists of three subway stations and four sections, the company said.

It added this will be completed within two-and-a-half years, and will begin service in 2020.

The contract is worth 2.29 billion yuan ($0.34 billion).

Moscow vice mayor Marat Khusnullin said China will open the subway line, which runs from Prospekt Vernadskogo station to Aminyevskoye Shosse station, at the start of 2018, Russian media Sputnik reported on Monday.

The report said approximately 500 Chinese workers and engineers will also come to Moscow for the project.

This marks the first time Russia has invited a foreign company to participate in its subway construction. It's also China's first subway project in Europe.

CRCC said Li Chude, a member of the Standing Committee and Secretary of the Commission for Discipline Inspection of the CRCC Party Committee, inspected the job site in October.

Premier Li Keqiang and Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev signed a joint communiqué on Wednesday, stating that the two sides should enhance cooperation on high-speed rail, including the technology, equipment and investments so a date can be set to initiate the Moscow-Kazan high-speed rail project, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

The 770-kilometer railway will cost 1.3 trillion rubles ($22.4 billion). The trains will run at a maximum speed of 400 kilometers per hour, and will cut travel time from 14 hours to 3.5 hours, Xinhua reported.