Constanta By-Pass Project

Overview
Project Summary Document
Environmental and Social Documentation
Procurement
Complaints

Project ID 33391

Status Complete

Location

Romania

Business Sector

Transport

Notice Type

State

Project timeline

Exploratory
Passed Concept Review
Passed Structure Review
Passed Final Review
Board Approved
Signed
Implementing
Completed

This document was prepared at an early stage of project development, before consideration by the EBRD Board of Directors. Details of a project may change following disclosure.

Where PSDs include copies of documents produced by project sponsors, the EBRD makes them available without any comment or implied endorsement. Any views expressed or statements made in such documents do not necessarily reflect the EBRD’s views or opinions.

Last updated 19 August 2025

Project ID 33391

Status Complete

Location

Romania

Business Sector

Transport

Notice Type

State

Environmental Category

Approval Date

15 Nov 2005

Disclosure date

11 Jul 2006

As per section 1.4.2 (iii) of the Directive on Access to Information: "For Projects approved by Bank management where the Board of Directors has delegated the approval authority, the PSD shall be disclosed at the start of the relevant no-objection notification period to a member country of the Bank in accordance with Article 13 (iii) of the Agreement Establishing the EBRD."

Project Description

The proposed project will support the construction of a north-south by-pass to the town of Constanta, linking with the Bucharest-Constanta Motorway, the rehabilitation of ten strategic bridges (crossing the Danube or the Danube – Black Sea Channel) in the Constanta area and repairs and rehabilitation works to 120 flood-damaged locations (road sections and bridges) on the national roads network.

The project will also include loan-financed consultancy for:

(i) detailed design, procurement and works supervision

(ii) land acquisition

(iii) assistance to NCMNR in the preparation and implementation of performance-based road operation and maintenance contracts.

Transition Impact

Transition impact would stem from improved corporate government, sector finance and private sector involvement in road maintenance.

The operation will

assist with further improving the road sector financing and the availability of financing for road maintenance. It will ensure adequate financing and expenditure for road maintenance in accordance with the road network current status and future development. It will also review and improve the road user charges framework.
support with the introduction of performance-based road maintenance contracts in Romania. This will increase competition and will increase private sector involvement in the sector. It will also improve the effectiveness and efficiency of road maintenance.
assist NAR with improving the framework for road construction related land acquisition and utilities relocation.

The Client

The borrower is Romania. The proposed project will be implemented by NCMNR a Government-owned company. NCMNR’s responsibilities include the functions of planning, standard setting, programming (assessing needs, budgeting and prioritising the allocation of funds), preparation (design and procurement) of road construction, rehabilitation and periodic maintenance, and undertaking routine and winter maintenance.

EBRD Finance

The facility will consist of a sovereign loan to Romania in the amount of EUR 145 million to be on lent to the National Company for Motorways and National Roads (NCMNR). The equivalent of EUR 56.21 million of the loan will be granted in Romanian Lei.

The Project is part of a programme parallel-financed by EIB and EBRD consisting of completion of the Bucharest-Constanta Motorway from Cernavoda to Constanta, construction of the Constanta By-Pass, rehabilitation of ten bridges and repairs and rehabilitation works to 120 flood-damaged road sections and bridges.

Project Cost

Total project cost is estimated at EUR 259 million.

Environmental Impact

Screening categories and rationale for classification
The Project has been classified A/0 requiring a full Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). The EIA has been carried out by international consultants in accordance with both Romanian and European Union (EU) legal requirements and Bank policy.

Information reviewed
The EIA and associated public consultation, prepared by RNCMNR and its Advisers, can be viewed at the Sponsor’s website. The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) had been carried out in accordance with Romanian EIA law, which is harmonised with the EU EIA Directive as well as with EBRD’s specific EIA requirements. The Executive Summary of the EIA is available here.

Consideration of alternatives
The proposed route was selected from five alternative routes after a combined evaluation of technical, economic and environmental criteria

Key environmental issues and mitigation measures
The area is located in the large open land of south Dobrogea region characterized by an intensive agricultural use, mainly arable land and grassland. The natural value of the area is very poor and the main ecosystem is agricultural crops with few trees and shrubs along the local roads and between the different fields. In the area the most important natural site is the Botanic Reserve of Valul lui Traian.

The landscape along the motorway is uniform with the important site of the fortification line Valul lui Traian. Along this historical element is a protected area with the same name. The botanic reserve includes a number of Red List flora and fauna species characteristic elements of the original habitat of steppe zone. The Valul lui Traian protected area is a mixed reserve of botanical and forestry areas. Grassland or woodland planting will be distributed along the road as screening and landscape integration. Specific Landscape Mitigation Measures, such as plantation of noise bunds, will be established in order to mitigate the impacts on neighbouring properties.

The air quality along the proposed motorway line is good. The air emissions from the increased road use are not likely to be significant. The properties along the scheme identified as having potential noise impact will be protected, e.g. by earth bounds. The large-scale construction activities, including the use of a variety of engines, rock breaking and construction traffic, may temporarily generate significant levels of noise. The contractors will be obliged to take specific noise abatement measures.

The alignment of the bypass traverses only rural areas and passes in the west part of Constanta town, near the Ovidu and Cumpana urban settlements and the settlement of Lazu. The proposed alignment does not cross/by-pass directly any major settlements and consequently the number of affected population is low. The investigation on the socio-economic status along the motorway alignment confirms that impacts on population is not a main critical issue, but are more related to indirect impacts on population including noise, landscape, historical and archaeological sites, air quality, land use and settlement patterns.

As result of the environmental investigation, the agricultural ecosystem has been identified as the main critical issue along with the urban area of Lazu and the archaeological site of Vallum Traiani and the protected natural area with the same name.

Mitigation measures to address all the potential impacts are set out in the EIA. And will be developed further in the Environmental Management and Monitoring Plan (below).

Environmental management and monitoring
An Environmental Management Plan (EMP) is being developed to define the environmental measures and procedures to prevent, minimise and mitigate adverse impacts and to ensure compliance with applicable environmental standards during both the construction and operation of the road. The EMP will define necessary mitigation measures, environmental monitoring plan and institutional measures to be taken during project construction and operation. The EMP will be finalised when the detailed design of the project is completed. It may need to be revised during the course of the project implementation. The environmental monitoring of the key impacts identified in the EIA will ensure the efficiency of the planned mitigation measures.

Disclosure of information and public consultation
A public scoping discussions to identify relevant issues to be addressed in the EIA study were held in Constanta on March 2005, where over 100 representatives, including NGOs attended. The EIA was made publicly available for comment on July 1, 2005 for a period of at least 120 days prior to Board consideration. A further Public Meeting has taken place on July 19, 2005 in Constanta. The issues raised at the meetings will be taken into account in the preparation of the Final Detailed Design.

The Sponsor will organise on-going disclosure of information on the progress of the project and its environmental impacts throughout the project implementation on its website, in annual environmental reports and through periodic press releases.

Supervision and reporting
The sponsor will report to EBRD annually on the measured environmental impacts and on the implementation of the EMP. The Bank will evaluate the project's compliance with the applicable environmental and social requirements during the lifetime of the project by reviewing these reports. EBRD environmental specialist may conduct monitoring visits to the site when and if deemed appropriate. In addition, independent environmental monitoring audits may be carried out.

There is an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment available for this project.

Technical Cooperation

None.

Transition impact

ETI Score:60

PSD last updated

01 Feb 2019

Business opportunities

For business opportunities or procurement, contact the client company.

For state-sector projects, visit EBRD Procurement: Tel: +44 20 7338 6794
Email: procurement@ebrd.com

General enquiries

EBRD project enquiries not related to procurement:
Tel: +44 20 7338 7168
Email: projectenquiries@ebrd.com

Public Information Policy (PIP)

The PIP sets out how the EBRD discloses information and consults with its stakeholders so as to promote better awareness and understanding of its strategies, policies and operations. Please visit the Public Information Policy page below to find out how to request a Public Sector Board Report.
Text of the PIP

Project ID 33391

Status Complete

Location

Romania

Business Sector

Transport

Environmental Category

Disclosure date

01 Jul 2005

Purpose of the Environmental and Social Impact Assessments

The proposed Project will support the construction a north-south by-pass to the town of Constanta, linking with the Bucharest-Constanta Motorway, and the rehabilitation of ten strategic bridges (crossing the Danube or the Danube – Black Sea Channel) in the Constanta county.

The project will also include consultancy for:

(i) detailed design, procurement and works supervision

(ii) land acquisition; and (iii) assistance to NCMNR in the preparation and implementation of performance-based road operation and maintenance contracts.

The project will be implemented by NCMNR a Government-owned company.

There is a project summary document available for this project.

ESIA Summary

Executive Summary (English) (271KB - PDF)

Executive Summary (Romanian) (322KB - PDF)

Full ESIA availability

Full ESIA documentation is available locally at:
EBRD Headquarters in London, environmentandsocial@ebrd.com

And

Romanian National Company of Motorways and National Roads (NCMNR),
no. 38, Dinicu Golescu Blvd,
Bucharest, sector 1

Contact person: Mrs. Viorica Dumitru, Environmental Protection Office,
tel: +40 021 2248054;
fax: +40 021 2128681,
Website: www.andnet.ro

And

Louis Berger Group, Inc.,
no. 1, N. Titulescu Blvd.,
Bloc A7, sc.C, et. 8, ap. 85,
Bucharest, sector 1,

Contact person: Mrs. Mona Apostol,
Tel./fax: 021/2114353; 021/2107150.

And

Constanta Roads and Bridges Regional Directorate,
Constanta, str. Prelungirea Traian

Contact person: Mr. Marcu Nicolae,
Tel/fax: +40 0241 580394; +40 0241 581147,
e-mail: net@drdpct.ro;

and

The Resident Office of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Bucharest,
str. Gina Patrichi no. 8, sector 1

Contact person: Mr. Mihail Scvortov,

tel/fax: +40 021 2027100, 021/2027110

And

Client website. http://www.andnet.ro

Enquiries

Mrs. Viorica Dumitru; tel: +40 021 2248054

This document was prepared at an early stage of project development, before consideration by the EBRD Board of Directors. Details of a project may change following disclosure.

Last updated 19 August 2025

Selected procurement notices related to this project may be shown below. Further procurement opportunities related to this and other projects, if available, maybe be viewed in the EBRD Procurement Portal.

The EBRD's Environmental and Social Policy (ESP), Access to Information policy (AIP) and Project Accountability Policy (PAP) enable sound and sustainable development in its projects. The Independent Project Accountability Mechanism (IPAM) deals with complaints about environmental, social and disclosure matters related to the Bank’s investments.

No complaints about this project have been made so far.

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Constanta By-Pass Project

Project timeline

Project Description

Transition Impact

The Client

EBRD Finance

Project Cost

Environmental Impact

Technical Cooperation

Transition impact

PSD last updated

Business opportunities

General enquiries

Public Information Policy (PIP)

Purpose of the Environmental and Social Impact Assessments

ESIA Summary

Full ESIA availability

Enquiries