Infrastructure to eat up 1.4bn-euro loans

The infrastructure projects that will be carried out next year will benefit from foreign loans worth 1.4bn euros, with most of the money coming from the European Investment Bank (EIB), Transport Minister Gheorghe Dobre announced on Tuesday. “We will take out one billion euros from international financial institutions for all types of transport in 2005, and will this way fund projects worth 1.4bn euros next year,” the minister said. EIB will fund the construction of three sections of highway on the Pan-European Corridor IV. The Cernavoda-Constanta section will get 250 million euros, while the Pitesti-Sibiu section that needs 1.1bn euro investments will see the Ministry borrow 300 million euros. The Lugoj-Timisoara section will get funding, too, though the value was not specified. It will also supply funding for the modernisation of 800 kilometres of national roads (through a 300 million euro project), the construction of 20 ring roads around a number of cities and the modernisation of the Curtici-Simeria railway. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development will sign an agreement with the Transport Ministry for a 145 million euro loan for the construction of roundabout for Constanta. ZF