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Paving the way for Moldova’s development
EBRD, EIB and World Bank to finance road rehabilitation
For a landlocked country whose economy is largely based on agriculture a good
road infrastructure is of the utmost importance. This is especially true for
Moldova, which is also becoming increasingly important as a border state
between the European and the countries further to the east. The Trans-European
Network Corridor IX (Moscow-Kiev-Bucharest) crosses the country from east to
west.
Moldova’s road network, however, is in urgent need of rehabilitation.
Therefore the EBRD – together with the World Bank and the European Investment
Bank (EIB) – is providing the country with a financing package which will
bring major improvements. The project will have two phases with a total cost
of €89.5 million, of which the EBRD will provide a total of €30 million.
The works will involve the rehabilitation of road sections along the main
north-south corridor and the east-west corridor linking the capital Chisinau
with the border to Romania. Moldova’s road network totals about 16,000
kilometres, but presently 58 per cent of national roads and 75 per cent of
local roads are classified as in poor condition.
In recognition of the importance of a good road and transport infrastructure
the Government of Moldova is preparing a comprehensive strategy and has
increased spending on road maintenance and rehabilitation. The road
rehabilitation project financed by the EBRD, World Bank and EIB is part of
these endeavours.
Alexander Auboeck, EBRD Business Group Director for Infrastructure, said the
significance of the project goes beyond the physical road works. In addition,
it will also introduce a reform of road sector financing and institutional
strengthening to improve the state road administration’s capacity to manage
the road network and execute works in a transparent and efficient manner.
To-date, the EBRD has signed around 30 projects in Moldova, investing more
than €200 million and mobilising another €125 million from its partners. The
country is part of the EBRD’s Early Transition Countries Initiative, launched
in 2004, which aims to stimulate market activity in the Bank’s lowest-income
countries of operations by using a streamlined approach to financing more and
smaller projects, mobilising more investment, and encouraging economic reform.
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