Jean-Patrick Marquet, EBRD Managing Director for Infrastructure (second left) and Felix Stroe, Romanian Transport Minister (centre), joined by their respective teams at EBRD headquarters in London.
Meetings focus on urgent need for infrastructure financing
Underlining his country’s commitment to developing urgently needed infrastructure, Romania’s new Transport Minister Felix Stroe paid a working visit to the EBRD today.
At the Bank’s Headquarters in London, Minister Stroe met EBRD Managing Director for Infrastructure Jean-Patrick Marquet. Both sides underlined their commitment to working together to develop Romania’s priority infrastructure projects.
Discussions focused on the transport master plan, road-building and projects in the railway sector. The parties discussed financing for the planned East-West motorway, which will connect the city of Iași in eastern Romania with Târgu Mureș in the north-central region; the planned Bucharest Metro Line M6, which will link the capital’s northern railway station, Gara de Nord, to the Henri Coandă International Airport; and projects to modernise the railway sector.
They also considered technical assistance to improve the performance and efficiency of state-owned enterprises in the transport sector.
Jean-Patrick Marquet welcomed Romania’s strongly growing economy. He added: “Transport infrastructure probably constitutes one of the weakest areas of the business environment in the country but is vital for Romania’s development. We are certain that today we established a very strong basis for future cooperation in this crucial economic sector.”
Minister Stroe said: “In particular, we need the EBRD’s experience and expertise in restructuring state-owned enterprises, to make them more efficient and effective and help them meet the private sector’s performance levels.”
The EBRD is a leading investor in Romania and to date has invested €7.5 billion in some 400 projects in the country. In 2017, the Bank has signed more than 20 projects worth a total of over €400 million.
According to the EBRD’s latest economic forecast, Romania’s economy will grow at 5.3 per cent this year and 4.2 per cent in 2018, enjoying a growth rate comparable to the pre-crisis levels of the mid-2000s.
