India-Middle East-Europe Corridor different from China's Belt and Road Project: Ashwini Vaishnaw

The proposed India-Middle-East-Europe Corridor, which is considered a rival to China's Belt and Road Project, will be different. The initiative will generate money and be bankable in comparison to the Chinese project, which has placed some of its host countries in a debt trap, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw told NDTV.

"PM's vision of taking everyone along is an important part of this corridor... PM's vision of sabka saath sabka vikas is very clearly ingrained in this one from conception," the minister said.

The Chinese Belt and Road Project, according to the minister, had a lot of restrictions. Each nation can make a decision based on its needs in the case of the India-Middle-East-Europe Corridor project, which will be partially a shipping corridor and the remaining a railway, he said.

Since the project will be so bankable, several multilateral institutions are eager to provide funding. "Transportation will bring so much revenue that it will be able to pay on its own without getting the host country into a debt trap," he continued.

The corridor has been viewed by many as a counterweight to China's vast Belt and Road Initiative, which aimed to essentially restore the old Silk Route. The new project is being viewed as the ‘new spice route’.

Italy, the only G7 nation to sign up for China’s project, is likely to drop out as the European Nations are doubtful about the project.

Announced on the sidelines of the G20 meet, the proposed corridor will link railways, ports, electricity and data networks and hydrogen pipelines. It will connect India to the Middle East and Europe, an east corridor linking India to the Arabian Gulf, and a northern corridor linking the Arabian Gulf with Europe.

Power and data cables, as well as pipelines for hydrogen produced from renewable energy for use in power generation, will be developed along the rail track.