Planet Observer/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
Asia. True colour satellite image centred on Asia, with nearly all of Africa (down left) and Europe (upper left) seen. This image shows the curvature of the Earth, with north-south lines converging towards top. The terrain of Asia varies from deserts (brown, central and southern Asia), to tropical rainforests (dark green, South-East Asia and the Malay Archipelago), to grasslands, forests and tundra (lighter green, northern Asia), and mountain ranges (centre). Also seen is the Arctic (top), Alaska (top right), and the Pacific Ocean (right) and Indian Ocean (lower left). The image used data from LANDSAT 5 & 7 satellites., Asia, True Colour Satellite Image (Photo by Planet Observer/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
CNN  — 

A new highway stretching 1,250 miles through Russia has received the green light from officials.

The “Meridan” highway will reach almost 1,250 miles (2,000 kilometers) long and will run westward from the country’s border with Kazakhstan, creating the shortest route to move goods between mainland Europe and China, Russian state news agency RIA Novosti reported.

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The agency said that Russian politician Dmitry Medvedev approved the first phase of the project, which will be funded as part of a partnership between private investors with state support.

The project will cost an estimated 600 billion rubles – around $9.4 billion. RIA Novosti reported that more than 80% of the land needed for the construction of the highway has already been bought.

Jacek Różycki/Visitnorway.com
The Atlantic Road, Norway: Belly-flips and bridges make up this high-octane drive along the Norwegian coastline. Get ready to see unusual birds flying overhead, while seals and whales swim off the coastline. Plus, at dusk there's a wickedly orange sunset.
Destination BC/Andrew Strain
The Alcan Highway, Canada to Alaska: This mammoth long-haul route in the moody North American wilderness takes around 31 hours to complete. Pictured: Caribou on the Alaska Highway in Muncho Lake Provincial Park.
Tourism Australia
Great Ocean Road, Australia: Here mountains meet oceans, rainforests meet dramatic cliffs, and lighthouses meet national parks. At the end of the route you'll want to U-turn and ride it again.
Shutterstock
Amalfi Coast Road, Italy: This is one of the prettiest routes we've ever encountered. This coastal route is crammed with pastel villages, historic churches and pristine lapping coastline.
Toni Fish/Flickr
Ticlio Pass, Peru: One for the adrenaline junkies, this hairy drive along the highest paved road in South America sweeps through the Andes and has prayer-inducing bends, suicidal wild llamas darting out of the scenery and mountains prone to landslides. (Photo credit: Toni Fish/Flickr)
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Route 62, South Africa: Route 62 stretches 748 kilometers between Cape Town and Port Elizabeth. Here, Hout Bay is pictured from Chapman's Peak Drive, a celebrated nine-kilometer marine drive close to the start of Route 62.
Barry Neild/CNN
Jebel Hafeet, United Arab Emirates: Carved into the desert, this road leads nowhere except to a private palace and the exclusive Mercure hotel (pictured). It's worth the journey up and back for the smooth surfaces and 60 race-track-worthy corners that snake around the Hafeet mountain.
Courtesy Alastair Milne
Transfagarasan Road, Romania: Spooky dark tunnels (the longest is more than 800 meters and pitch black), plus endless twists and turns make for a thrilling ride through Dracula territory.
Courtesy Daniel Allen Photography
NC500, Scotland: Castles, lochs, glens and mop-topped Highland cattle are the stars of this loop road which has been billed as Scotland's answer to Route 66.
Colin Monteath/age fotostock
Dawn breaks during winter at Mitre Peak in Milford Sound, the most famous of the 15 fjords in Fiordland National Park.

The new road will also improve European access to Western Russia and Central Asia by car.

Courtesy Albert Dros
The Iceberg: Kyrgyz tour guide Timur Akbashev posed for this night shot in front of a backdrop of stars in a location known as "Mars Canyon." Click through the gallery for more of Dros's images.
Courtesy Albert Dros
Fairytale Canyon: Albert Dros uses a technique called "stacking" to build perfectly exposed and focused night shots out of multiple images.
Courtesy Albert Dros
Star trail: In another image from Fairytale Canyon, Dros uses multiple exposures taken over time to create a star trail effect.
Courtesy Albert Dros
Mars Canyon: Dros scouts locations beforehand using Google Earth to track down interesting formations that he can then shoot with his drone.
Courtesy Albert Dros
Digital planning: "For a trip like this I really don't know what to expect," says Dros. "I really like to scout in Google Earth, I can see it really detailed from the top, but I can also use the 3D view and I can see all the mountains."
Courtesy Albert Dros
Passion project: "For me, landscape photography is my hobby, it's also my job and my passion. I'm really addicted to it," says Dros. "So everywhere I am, I look around me, I see what's going on. Small things, big landscapes, everywhere, from the car, from the plane I will look outside and see a potential scene to shoot."
Courtesy Albert Dros
Eagle man: Dros, who originally trained as a graphic designer, says he much prefers shooting landscapes to people, but made an exception for this traditional Kyrgyz eagle hunter.
Courtesy Albert Dros
Canyon of Tears: Dros named this labyrinth of dry waterways the Canyon of Tears. Local tour guides Timur Akbashev and Ibraim Almazbekov came up with their own name: Canyon of Forgotten Rivers.
Courtesy Albert Dros
Completely deserted: Many of the beautiful areas visited by Dros on his trip are not on the tourist trail -- although that could soon change.
Courtesy Albert Dros
Adventure destination: With a recent relaxation of visa rules, Kyrgyzstan may soon be a hot adventure tourism destination.
Courtesy Albert Dros
Safe and welcoming: "A lot of people they don't know this country," says Dros. "They don't know where it is. They think of Afghanistan and know it's dangerous, But Kyrgzstan is very safe, the people are very nice."
Courtesy Albert Dros
New ground: "I took a lot of pictures from places that even the locals don't really know," says Dros. "I'm very excited about this because when I post these pictures online and share them, even the locals will think 'oh well, I didn't know these places were in Kyrgyzstan."
Courtesy Albert Dros
Orto-Tokoy reservoir: The iced-over waters of this reservoir, west of Lake Issyk-Kul provided another landscape for Dros to capture.
Courtesy Albert Dros
Aerial ice: Dros uses a DJI Mavic 2 Pro drone to capture images from the air. On land, he uses a Sony A7RIII camera.
Courtesy Albert Dros
Painting with photos: "The world is my canvas and I just want to show the world in the most beautiful way," Dros says. "With all the tools we have today, my camera and also my drone which is very important on trips like this, it's almost as if you're painting through your camera or drone. I see lines everywhere, compositions or contrasts."
Courtesy Albert Dros
No roads: Navigating these incredible landscapes can be tricky. Sometimes it's hard to tell a road from a dried-up riverbed. Sometimes the road is a dried-up riverbed.
Courtesy Albert Dros
Back to The Iceberg: "I will get not much sleep on a trip like this, but if the shots come out great it really doesn't matter," says Dros. "Because this is really what keeps me going, the beautiful scenery and the chance to get these beautiful shots. You can always sleep later."

The project is just one of many aiming to improve infrastructure and connectivity in the area.

In 2013, Chinese President Xi Jinping launched the The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) – a global infrastructure policy aiming to build ports, roads and railways to create new trade corridors linking China to Asia, Africa and Europe.

CNN’s Darya Tarasova and James Griffiths contributed to this report.