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EBRD lends Romania €145 million
Loan will help build new bypass, and fix flood-damaged roads
The EBRD is lending the Romanian government €145 million – the Bank’s largest
loan in the country, of which a portion (€56 million or RON 204 million) will
be in Romanian Lei – to boost infrastructure projects around Constanta, the
port city along the country’s Black Sea coast. A part of the loan will
specifically help repair key road infrastructure sections that were affected
by severe floods in the country earlier this year.
The government will on-lend the loan to the state-owned National Company for
Motorways and National Roads (NCMNR) to help build a new 22.9 kilometre bypass
around the city, significantly reducing traffic congestion and pollution by
re-routing heavy port traffic and peek seasonal tourist traffic. It will also
help upgrade ten key bridges that cross the Danube or the Danube - Black Sea
channel located on the bypass or on and adjacent to the Bucharest-Constanta
motorway. Around €45 million of the loan will specifically target
flood-damaged areas, including fifteen bridges, and 105 national road
sections.
Riccardo Puliti, EBRD Director for Transport, said this loan will
significantly benefit many residents, tourists and businesses in Constanta.
Creating the bypass will on the one hand decrease traffic levels in the city
that will improve safety levels, and it will also enable businesses using the
port to transport goods quicker and more efficiently, said Mr Puliti.
Furthermore, by promptly supporting flood damaged areas in the country, the
Bank is reiterating its commitment to Romania, he added.
The loan will be implemented by NCMNR, which is responsible for areas such as
administration, maintenance, and operation and development of the country’s
national road network. This latest project builds on previous cooperation
between the Bank and NCMNR, in projects supporting road infrastructure in the
country.
“This EBRD loan is innovative and unique in the Romanian long-term debt
market, and it demonstrates the Bank’s responsiveness to client needs, said
Sebastian Vladescu, Minister of Public Finance. It also shows the EBRD’s
confidence in the recently redenominated Romanian currency,” Minister Vladescu
added.
The EBRD is the largest investor in Romania, having committed more than €2.8
billion in around 150 projects.
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