The type 20V 4000 R63L power units will have an output of 3.3MW and are the most powerful locomotive engines in MTU's range.
The first 20 units will be produced at MTU's Friedrichshafen plant in Germany and supplied directly to CNR Dalian, while the remainder will be delivered to subsidiary MTU South Africa for final assembly and testing.
Deliveries will begin later this year and continue until 2017.
