A1 MOTORWAY EU COHESION CO-FINANCING

The project concerns the construction of a 122.1 km section of the new greenfield A1 Motorway between the cities of Sibiu and Pitesti in less developed regions of central Romania. This motorway is part of the core Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T).

The project will improve traffic flow efficiency and road safety on the core TEN-T road corridor and is expected to generate economic benefits from time savings, vehicle operating cost reductions and safety improvements.

The project concerns the construction of a 122.1 km section of the new greenfield A1 Motorway between the cities of Sibiu and Pitesti in less developed regions of central Romania. The project is addressing the development of the TEN-T core network in the less developed regions of Centru (RO12), Sud-Vest Oltenia (RO41) and Sud-Muntenia (RO31). The project will enhance road accessibility, connectivity, and safety while improving traffic flow and living conditions. The project is expected to generate economic benefits from time savings, with other benefits arising from reductions in vehicle operating costs, positive impacts on climate and the environment, and improvements in safety.The project benefitted from JASPERS support at project preparation and from PASU (Project Advisory Support Unit) technical assistance to the Managing Authority. In addition to the project advisory support, the Bank's more favourable conditions of the EIB loan (in particular a longer maturity and lower interest than available on the market) have a significant impact on the operation. The EIB loan will partially finance the State contribution to the project, alongside EU grant funds amounting to around EUR 1.9bn. 

The project falls under Annex I of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Directive 2011/92/EU as amended by Directive 2014/52/EU and is therefore subject to EIA procedure. Environmental decisions for all the project sections have already been issued between 2018 and 2024 . As part of the EIA procedure launched in June 2017, the project was also subject to an AA study, as required by Art. 6(3) of the Habitats Directive. The project alignment crosses or is in the vicinity of 11 Natura 2000 sites. Particular attention during the appraisal will be on foreseen measures for mitigating any potential negative impact on Natura 2000 specific conservation objectives.

The EIB will require the promoter to ensure that contracts for implementation of the project have been tendered in accordance with the applicable EU procurement legislation, 2014/24/EU as well as Directive 89/665/EEC as interpreted by the Court of Justice of the EU, with publication of tender notices in the EU Official Journal, as and where required.