The EBRD is financing the acquisition of 50 new, low-emission buses in the Romanian city of Sibiu with a 65.7 million Romanian lei loan (about €14.2 million) to improve public transport and the local environment.
The new Euro-6 low-floor vehicles will reduce air pollution in Sibiu and will improve access and mobility in the region.
The loan is provided to the local transport company Tursib and is in line with the city’s Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan developed with the EBRD’s support.
The financing is part of the EBRD’s Romania Framework for Sustainable Mobility and Access to Road Transport (SMART) programme, which finances improvements in public transport infrastructure and services in the country.
Matteo Patrone, Regional Director for Romania and Bulgaria at the EBRD, said: “Sibiu is a story of a massive transformation: infrastructure investments combined with structural reforms have dramatically changed the city over the last decade. The EBRD is continuing its engagement with Sibiu to improve the quality of life, boost tourism and economic growth in the city and surrounding areas.”
The long-term partnership between the Bank and Sibiu dates back to 2004 when the city was selected as a 2007 European Capital of Culture and infrastructure investment became a priority.
Since then the reform-minded municipality has become one of the largest recipients of EBRD municipal financing. The Bank lends directly to the municipality, but also to the city’s public transport and water and wastewater companies.
Previously, Tursib received a €10 million loan in 2006 to buy 35 new buses, and €4.8 million in 2014 for the construction of a new bus depot.
The EBRD is a leading institutional investor in Romania. In 2017, the Bank has invested over €540 million in more than 28 projects in the country. To date it has invested over €7.8 billion in over 410 Romanian projects.
