News

photo source: mei.gov.md

Posted by: Mazur Rodica

News / Economic

14 July 2020 / 11:41

The first batch of locomotives for the Moldovan Railway arrived in Chisinau

The first batch of six locomotives out of the 12 purchased by the Republic of Moldova with the support of European financial institutions arrived in Chisinau today.

In the inaugural speech, the Minister of Economy and Infrastructure, Sergiu Railean, stated that this investment will reduce consumption and expenses for locomotive maintenance, as well as the time of transport of trains through the country thus increasing the speed of traffic.

"The renewal of the locomotive fleet is one of the components of the railway transport system reform, which will not only streamline the activity of the Railway and will meet the needs of citizens, but will also support entrepreneurs in transporting goods on the domestic and foreign market, contributing to the development of the national economy," said the Minister of Economy.

"It is a historic day for the MFF, because for the first time for the entire period of independence of the Republic of Moldova, such investments are made in the revitalization of the technical park and the restoration of the railway in the Republic of Moldova. I very much hope that after the renovation of the locomotive fleet, the next stage will be everything related to the railway infrastructure," said Igor Dodon, quoted by Moldova 1.

"It is the money of EU citizens that comes to the aid of Moldovan citizens to help, make living standards better. These days, we will see even more, a second tranche of macro-financial assistance. These locomotives seem to be huge, they are only a small part of the support that the EU offers to Moldova," said the head of the EU Delegation in Moldova, Peter Michalko, quoted by Moldova 1.

The locomotives were produced by a Kazakh company, which was contracted by CFM following a tender held in 2018. The value of the contract for the purchase of 12 new locomotives is 45 million euros. The money was lent by the EBRD and the EIB. The purchase of the locomotives is part of a CFM restructuring project, financed by the EBRD, the EIB and the EU. The total cost of the project is €110 million, of which €5 million is a grant from the EU's Neighborhood Investment Fund (NIF).

Show Comments