Russian highway touted to be ‘new Silk Road’ Posted by Gabrielle Jacobs on 12 July 2019 Tags:china, russia, Silk Road On Tuesday 9 July Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev announced the approval of plans to build a highway across parts of Russian in a bid to connect Europe and China. The new highway, once complete, will primarily facillitate trade, allowing cargo to pass more freely between Europe and China via Russia. Khrebet Nurgush in the Ural Mountains region, not far from Kazakhstan. The project is expected to cost 600-billion rubles (roughly R133 billion) and will be funded privately by investors rather than the Russian government. The name of the new 2,000-kilometre highway will be the ‘Meridian Highway’, which will begin at Russian’s border with Belarus (west) and cut across the length of the country, just south of Moscow, to the border with Kazakhstan. From here the route can link to China via another cross-country commute through Kazakhstan. Some members of the media have compared the concept of the Meridian with the Silk Road, the famous, ancient trade route. The original Silk Road, however, comprised a number of routes, and spanned thousands of kilometres across and around Asia and Europe. The Meridian Highway, which would serve the convenience of connecting Eurasia to China by creating a shorter route just south of Moscow, is a part of President of the People’s Republic of China Xi Jinping’s vision of a ‘transcontinental trade route’ (which includes Africa), and for which Russia’s Vladimir Putin is a keen negotiator. Image: Unsplash Also read: Woman travelling 12,000km on camel to UK You may also like Related Posts Earthquake in Athens sends people scattering 19 July 2019 A 5.1-magnitude earthquake rattled the Greek capital on Friday afternoon, sending people running into the street.... read more Apollo Mission Control Centre restored for moon landing anniversary 19 July 2019 The Space Center Houston is welcoming visitors to the restored Apollo Mission Control Center to... read more SA ranks as most dangerous for women travelling solo 19 July 2019 While it may come as no surprise, it's not pleasant to see your country ranked... read more PREV ARTICLE NEXT ARTICLE
Earthquake in Athens sends people scattering 19 July 2019 A 5.1-magnitude earthquake rattled the Greek capital on Friday afternoon, sending people running into the street.... read more
Apollo Mission Control Centre restored for moon landing anniversary 19 July 2019 The Space Center Houston is welcoming visitors to the restored Apollo Mission Control Center to... read more
SA ranks as most dangerous for women travelling solo 19 July 2019 While it may come as no surprise, it's not pleasant to see your country ranked... read more
