The European Commission has approved Romania’s investment plan worth up to US$30.2 million to the country’s largest river ports.
Romania put forward its investment plans, the aim of which is build a multimodal platform with an approximate annual capacity of 150,000 TEU, to the Commission April.
The project includes the modernization of the quay and the building of the infrastructure required for a modern intermodal terminal.
In total, the project is expected to cost $100 million, and will be co-financed by the Romanian state and the EU through the Large Infrastructure Operational Program (POIM) and the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) financing instrument.
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Ultimately, the objective is to expand the logistic hub to support the transition from road transport to waterway transport along the trans-European Rhine-Danube corridor, which ensure the connection to the East of the goods from major ports including Rotterdam, Vienna, Mainz and Strasbourg.
Romania has the largest share of the Danube Basin, about 30%. The Romanian sector of the river includes ports such as Galaţi, Girugiu and Brăila.
In a statement, the Commission noted that the state aid was “necessary, proportionate and that the distortion of competition will be limited, given the relatively small-to-medium size of the Port of Galați, with limited transport volumes at EU level.
Furthermore, according to traffic growth forecasts, the slight capacity increase created by the project would be offset by the increase in demand, mainly stemming from other road based flows transport routes on the Rhine-Danube territory.”
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