The Republic of Moldova is ready to continue the process of interconnecting the national transport networks with the European ones, Minister of Infrastructure and Regional Development Vladimir Bolea told a press conference. According to the official, the modernization of the railway and road infrastructure is a central pillar that is important for the economic development not only of the country, but also of the entire region, IPN reports.
"The Republic of Moldova continues to intensify its efforts to modernize the transport infrastructure, to ensure better connectivity with the European Union. The Ministry set the rehabilitation of the railway infrastructure as a priority and we are making every effort to identify the best options for making the most of the railways. Our goal, in the future, is to transfer transport from roads to rails so as to facilitate the transit of goods through international transport corridors," said Deputy Prime Minister Vladimir Bolea.
He also said that grains represent 80% of all Moldova’s exports through the state port. That is why the extensive development of this port is required. In this connection, new Government decisions for the development of the port are to be made. The state port by the end of last year exported over 803,000 tonnes of cargo. In 2025, the aim is to develop the railways and interconnect them with the state port and the private port of the Republic of Moldova.
As for the four bridges that will be built over the Prut, Vladimir Bolea said that they are at the design stage and he hopes that their construction will start together with the Romanian Government. The first bridge will be built in Ungheni and will be called the "Flower Bridge".
According to the Minister of Transport and Infrastructure of Romania Sorin Grindeanu, a series of mechanisms were put in place after the war in Ukraine began and these led to the transit of 70 million tonnes of goods from Ukraine to Romania.
"I hope that we will enter the period of reconstruction of Ukraine as soon as possible so that these routes that we established will be used for the reconstruction of Ukraine," said the Romanian official. Sorin Griondeanu also said that in the coming years, investments will be made, in particular in Romania's eastern infrastructure, because now there is a gap compared to the western part.
The head of DG Move Magda Kopczyńska stressed that the European Union will continue to provide assistance to the Republic of Moldova in order to accelerate the process of modernization of the transport infrastructure and to facilitate the connection to the European network. "It is a common priority to ensure that all ongoing projects are carried out at a sustained pace and that the benefits are felt by the citizens of the Republic of Moldova," stressed Magda Kopczyńska.
