
The EIB will allocate an additional 24 million euros to Moldova for the development of railway infrastructure, and the total loan amount for this purpose will reach 74 million euros.
This is provided for by the draft law adopted by the Parliament in the second reading on the ratification of the agreement signed on December 17, 2021 in Chisinau on amending the financial agreement between Moldova and the European Investment Bank on railway infrastructure and rolling stock of Moldova dated September 26, 2016. As mentioned by Prime Minister, Minister of Infrastructure and Regional Development Andrei Spinu, the new loan of 24 million euros allocated by the EIB will be used for the reconstruction of the railway section between the railway stations of Bender - Basarabeasca - Etulia - Giurgiulesti. This operation will form part of a total EIB investment of €74 million for the rehabilitation and modernization of the railway infrastructure and the purchase of locomotives in Moldova, under a project also co-financed by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the EU. Initially, the EIB loan amounted to 50 million euros, of which 30 million euros were intended for the rehabilitation of the railways, and 20 million euros for the purchase of locomotives. However, after assessing the cost of the work and after the results of the tender for the rehabilitation of the railway section between the railway stations of Bender-Causeni-Basarabeasca-Etulia-Giurgiulesti, it was found that the amount planned in the contract for the rehabilitation of this railway infrastructure is insufficient for the implementation of the project. In this regard, it was necessary to increase the amount of the loan from the EIB by 24 million euros for the modernization component of the railway infrastructure. The total loan amount for this component will increase to 54 million euros, while the total loan for the modernization of the railway infrastructure and the purchase of locomotives will increase to 74 million euros. With an increase in the size of the EIB loan for the modernization of railway infrastructure by 24 million euros, the financial terms of the loan do not change. The maturity of the loan is 25 years. The interest rate can be chosen from the fixed rate offered by the European Investment Bank on the payment date, or from the floating rate. The section of the Bender-Causeni-Basarabeasca-Etulia-Giurgiulesti railway is very important and is the busiest railway section in our country, providing transit of goods from Romania, Ukraine and Russia. // 21.01.2022- InfoMarket.