Ukraine, EU to jointly finance new Silk Road transport corridor

KIEV - Ukraine and the European Union (EU) will jointly finance the "Go highway" project, which would establish a new transport corridor on the Silk Road, Ukrainian Infrastructure Minister Volodymyr Omelyan said on Tuesday.

"The EU is ready to partially finance our 'Go highway' project that will connect the Baltic Sea and the Black Sea," Omelyan told reporters after meeting with Henrik Hololei, the European Commission's director-general for mobility and transport.

Last year, Ukraine has launched the project to connect four Black Sea ports in southern Ukraine and two Baltic Sea ports in northern Poland.

The new transport corridor stretching for 1,746 km will cost about 2 billion euros (about $2.4 billion). It is set to be completed within three years.

The Ukrainian Infrastructure Ministry said earlier that the project will boost Ukraine-Europe trade by reducing the cargo delivery costs.

According to the ministry, it will also contribute to developing China-EU trade and to strengthening Ukraine's transit positions on the China-proposed modern Silk Road.