New £7.5 billion Meridian Highway connecting Europe with China was approved by Putin

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• A new motorway spanning 1,250 miles (2,012 km) was approved by the leaders of Russia and China

• The project is known as Meridian Highway, will be a part of wider cooperation between China and Russia, with the purpose of increasing trade

• It is expected to cost £7.5 billion (600 rubles)

• The Meridian Highway will connect Europe with Central Asia and will decrease cost for consumers and suppliers for both China and European market.

The new toll link is expected to cost around 600 billion roubles (£7.5billion), and will be built using a public-private partnership – with guarantees to investors about returns. It is hoped the road will shorten trucking routes between cargo hubs in western China and central Europe.

The four-lane highway will enter Belarus close to Smolensk and go through Moscow and Minsk ending in Shanghai.

The idea behind it is to offer a faster alternative to three existing trade corridors currently used to move goods to their markets – including the Trans-Siberian Railway and the Suez Canal. The construction is mending to finish in 12 years if everything goes by plan.

Source: https://www.independent.co.uk/