The proposed India-Middle East-Europe corridor, seen by many as a rival to China’s Belt And Road Project, will be substantially different, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw told DailyExpertNews today. Compared to the Chinese project that has plunged some host countries into debt traps, the G20 project will be revenue generating and bankable, he told DailyExpertNews in an exclusive interview.
“The Prime Minister’s vision of taking everyone along is an important part of this corridor… The Prime Minister’s vision of sabka saath sabka vikas has been very clearly ingrained here from its conception,” the minister said.
Since its announcement, the US-backed project, dubbed by many as the new Spice Road, has been seen as a counterweight to China’s ambitious Belt And Road Initiative, which aimed to roughly revive the old Silk Road.
But ten years later, European countries are doubtful. The only G7 country to have signed up, Italy, is likely to drop out, reports say. And there are increasing murmurs about the debt trap facing host countries.
Mr Vaishnaw said the BRI came with many conditions. In the case of this project, which will consist partly of a shipping corridor and the rest of a railway, each country can decide according to its needs, he said.
The project will be so profitable that several multilateral institutions are willing to finance it. “Transport will generate so much revenue that it can pay for itself without the host country falling into a debt trap,” he added.
The proposed G20 project, announced on the sidelines of the meeting, will connect railways, ports, electricity and data networks and hydrogen pipelines.
The project will connect rail and port facilities in the Middle East – including the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Israel – bypassing the Suez Canal and potentially speeding up trade between India and Europe by as much as 40 percent.
