Four hundred kilometres of railway track in the Republic of Moldova will be rehabilitated in cooperation with Ukraine’s state railway company Ukrzaliznytsia.
A Memorandum was signed in Vinnitsa (a city in western Ukraine) by representatives of Ukrzaliznytsia and the State Railway Enterprise of Moldova (Calea Ferată din Moldova), under which reconstruction work on 400 km of railways will be carried out with the participation of Ukrainian specialists.
This is the North-South Railway Corridor of the Republic of Moldova: Valcineț – Ocnita – Balti – Ungheni – Calarasi – Calinari. The project will be completed by the end of 2024 and after the completion of the works the speed and capacity of trains will be increased. This is a major step in strengthening trade and economic cooperation between Moldova and Ukraine, Official.md website notes.
Railway in Moldova rehabilitated under the “Solidarity Lanes” initiative
The project to rehabilitate the railway section was developed by Moldovan railwaymen as part of the “Solidarity Lanes” initiative, which is supported by the European Commission and provides for the development of alternative logistic routes, as well as stimulating the economic development of Moldova and facilitating the transport of goods from Ukraine to the European Union.
It will be implemented with the financial support of the country’s external partners on the EU’s eastern border. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the European Commission have already approved a financial package in which the EU will provide an investment grant of EUR 20 million and the EBRD will provide the Moldovan government with EUR 23 million. In total, the financing package is worth EUR 71 million (EUR 28 million will be invested from other sources).
The project will also contribute to food security by facilitating access for Ukrainian goods to the largest operational port on the Black Sea, Constanța (in eastern Romania), as well as to the Romanian, Moldovan and Ukrainian ports of Galati, Reni, Ismail and Giurgiulesti. They have a cumulative operating capacity that can absorb a significant part of Ukraine’s export needs.
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