The European Investment Bank (EIB) announces five loans totalling EUR 397 million¹ for national and urban transport projects in Romania. The Romanian Government will onlend the funds as follows:

  • EUR 245 million to Romania's National Administration of Roads (NAR) for the rehabilitation of key transit roads, including the crucial domestic corridor linking Cluj Napoca (Transylvania) with Suceava (Moldavia region), and the road between the towns of Simeria and Petrosani in the Jiu Valley, in Western Romania.
  • EUR 115 million to the Bucharest Metro company, METROREX, to finance the modernisation of 60 metro trains and complete the construction of a the 4.8 km metro line between Linia de Centura and Nicolae Grigorescu stations in southern Bucharest;
  • EUR 7 million to Bucharest Urban Transport Authority (RATB) for the acquisition of a modern passenger ticketing system to be installed on the company's fleet of buses, trams and trolley-buses;
  • EUR 15 million to Romanian Railways' Infrastructure Company CFR S.A. to part-finance the acquisition of new track and catenary maintenance equipment, as well as a new computerised passenger ticketing and seat reservation system; and
  • EUR 15 million to Constanta Port Administration (MPAC) for a number of investments intended to improve the environmental situation in the port area and waters and to ensure adequate power supply to commercial companies operating notably in the new South Port.

The various transport modes in Romania will have to cope with growing mobility in an enlarged European Union. The various schemes financed by the EIB will mean more efficiency, safety and comfort for users of road, rail and port infrastructure at various locations throughout the country, as well as for users of public urban transport in the capital.

Commenting on the loan agreements signed in Bucharest today, EIB Vice-President Wolfgang Roth said: 'These projects follow the priorities set by the Accession Partnership and Pre-Accession Strategy agreed between Romania and the European Union, in particular for developing efficient transport infrastructure complying with national and EU environmental standards. In this context, the EIB is playing a vital role by providing suitable long-term finance.'

The EIB is the European Union's financing arm and provided its first loans in Romania in 1991. So far the Bank has lent some EUR 2.1 billion to Romanian projects, of which more than EUR 1.4 billion for transport schemes: EUR 815 million for roads and motorways, EUR 215 million to urban transport schemes, EUR 294 million to railroads, EUR 80 million for air traffic infrastructure and EUR 50 million for upgrading ports.

Since 1990, the EIB has lent over EUR 12 billion to projects in the ten Central European candidates for EU membership: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, Romania and Bulgaria.


(1) 1 EUR = 1.95583 DEM,  0.647500 GBP,  17,559.9 ROL