The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) will provide the Republic of Moldova with a €18.205 million loan for the rehabilitation of the North-Center Vălcineț-Ocnița-Bălți-Ungheni-Chisinau-Căinari railway corridor as part of the EU’s Solidarity Corridors initiative, IPN reports.

The Cabinet approved the signing of the Amendment Agreement No. 1 to the Loan Agreement between the Republic of Moldova and the EBRD “RLF- Moldovan Railways Crisis Response”, signed in Chisinau on June 27, 2023.

The Ministry of Infrastructure and Regional Development said that the integral project provides for the rehabilitation of the railway corridor Vălcineț-Ocnita-Bălți-Ungheni-Chisinau-Căinari, with a length of 446 kilometers, of which 128 kilometers of railway are in an unsatisfactory condition.

Parliament previously ratified the following agreements to support the implementation of the project: a €23 million loan from the EBRD, a €19.56 million grant through the European Neighbourhood Instrument, and a €41.205 million financing contract with the EIB.

“This section of railway ensures connection with the industrial sector in the north and center of the Republic of Moldova, including with the free economic zones in Mărculești, Balti, Ungheni and Chisinau. The corridor is important for the export, import and transit of goods from Romania and Ukraine. In addition, this section connects the Căinari-Cimișlia-Basarabeasca-Giurgiulești railway corridor, being used for the logistics of goods transshipped in the Danube and Black Sea ports,” the Ministry noted in a press release.

The works to repair the section are scheduled to be completed by the end of 2025.