Moldova Secures €150 Million from EBRD for Roads and Plans Highway Connecting Romania, Ukraine, and the EU

The Republic of Moldova on Tuesday signed an agreement with the European Investment Bank (EIB) to provide financing for the Iaşi-Ungheni-Chisinau-Odesa motorway. This was the first step towards the construction of a vital corridor linking Moldova to the EU, Euractiv reports.

The agreement, signed on Tuesday, provides funding for the pre-feasibility study and feasibility study required for the motorway project.

"The Ungheni-Chisinau-Odesa motorway will connect the regional economic and industrial hubs of the three countries, promote trade, economic and social development, bringing Moldova closer to the EU at the infrastructure level," the Infrastructure and Regional Development Department of the Republic of Moldova said. Minister Andrei Spina after signing the agreement, TV8 reports.

Regarding the pre-feasibility study, he said it should be completed by 2024, and the feasibility study is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2025.

He stressed the need to "move quickly to the next stages, including design, resource identification, tendering and project initiation".

In turn, the EBRD has provided a €150 million loan to Moldova to finance the rehabilitation of key roads in and around the capital Chisinau. The loan will allow the government to modernise and widen the M2 Chisinau ring road, upgrade the M1 Chisinau-Leuseni section, and purchase specialised equipment and software for the Road Asset Management System. The two roads are part of the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T), making Moldova a gateway between the European Union to the west and countries to the east.