Giurgiulesti freight port to be put into use in first half of 2009

As soon as design works on the cargo port in Giurgiulesti are complete somewhere in October, building works will start so that the port can be put in active service in the first half of 2009, general contractor Thomas Moser told Economy & Trade Minister Igor Dodon. Earlier, authorities announced that the cargo terminal would be ready to receive freight ships by September 2008. According to authorities, the oil terminal is already in service and has received four petroleum tankers so far. As works on the grain depot are about to complete, it will be able to store up to 50,000 tonnes of product in import-export deals. Total investment into the International Free Port Giurgiulesti and the complementary network of filling stations is estimated at $63 million, with 800 jobs being created to build it. One July 25 the International Free Port Giurgiulesti gained access to the national railway network, with connections with Ukraine and Romania. The costs involved in building a railway linkage for the port amounted to 836 million lei.