… the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) with a loan of up to USD12 million. The loan will part finance 100m of mixed-gauge rail on the territory of the port which connect the Romanian and Moldovan railways where Romania, as the rest of the EU, uses narrow gauge and Moldova as well as the neighbouring Ukraine and other CIS countries uses broad gauge.
First of all, it will enable the trains to enter the port and, secondly, it will help avoid long hours of lifting each carriage to have its bogies changed.
The EBRD’s investment will be also used for balance sheet restructuring through the refinancing of the short-term debt with long-term loans.
With the help of the EBRD’s loan the port will become a multi-purpose logistics hub at the crossings of maritime trade routes between Eastern Europe and the EU, with due access to road, rail (broad and narrow gauges), the Danube River and the Black Sea.
Giurgiulesti International Free Port is located near the village of Giurgiule?ti, the southernmost point of Moldova, on the border with the EU and 10km away from the Romanian city of Gala?i, the largest port town on the Danube River. The project will contribute to an increased competition for Moldovan cargo traffic with the regional ports, including Gala?i in Romania and Odessa in Ukraine.