The Romania’s government will start negotiations with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to acquire shares in Moldova’s only port.
The Giurgiulești International Free Port in southern Moldova is the single port accessible by the Black Sea. After Russia’ blockaded Ukrainian ports on the Black Sea in 2022, Giurgiulesti became crucial for transporting of goods in and out of, handling a record volume of 1.8 million tons in 2022.
At a government meeting on Wednesday, the Romanian government approved a memorandum to start talks with the EBRD, government spokesman Mihai Constantin said.
Romania’s goal wants to purchase EBRD’s shares in Danube Logistics SRL at the Giurgiulești International Free Port through the national company “Administrația Porturilor Maritime S.A. Constanța”, a commercial entity owned by transport and infrastructure ministry.
The memorandum sets up a negotiating commission formed by reps from the foreign,transport and finance ministries.This commission will launch negotiations with the EBRD for the acquisition of the shares.
The aim is to acquire Giurgiulești and make the nearby port of Constanța ”one of Eastern Europe’s major freight traffic hubs”, Constantin said.
Moldovan government spokesman Daniel Vodă said the EBRD is in talks with several potential investors, including Romania, Turkey, the Netherlands and Denmark, Moldpres reported.
“Two port infrastructure entities operate in Giurgiulești: the International Free Port of Giurgiulești (PILG), owned by the EBRD, and the State Port, owned by the Moldovan government. There are no discussions about the sale of the state port,” Vodă added, stressing that Moldova would not sell the part that belonged to the country.
Moldova is a small landlocked country, lying between EU-member Romania and Ukraine.
