Romania to build first highway kilometers in Moldova with EU funds

Romania will build the first highway kilometers on the territory of Moldova, as part of a project financed with European funds through the SAFE (Security Action for Europe) programme. The section will be the continuation across the Prut River of the A8 Highway – also known as the Union Highway – and will facilitate access for Moldovan drivers to Europe, as well as for Romanians to Chisinau. Irinel Ionel Scriosteanu, State Secretary at Romania’s Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure Irinel Ionel Scriosteanu has made statements to this effect at a TVR broadcast.

The official emphasized that the project had both strategic and symbolic significance:

"For six years, I’ve been saying that we are uniting Romania through infrastructure. Now we have reached the moment when, through infrastructure, we are also uniting Moldova with Romania. And I like to say that, not only Moldovans will have access to Romania and Western Europe, but Romanians will also have access to Moldova, to Chisinau, so they can better get to know their brothers across the Prut."

The launch of the design-and-build tender represents "one of the most important steps" in developing the project. The procedure is being accelerated, as the deadlines agreed with the European Commission are very tight.

"By next May, we must have the design-and-build contract signed, so that we can immediately move into the final design phase. We estimate that, at the latest in the spring of 2027, the construction work on the ground will effectively begin," Scriosteanu specified.

The cross-border section will be approximately 100 kilometers long, from Pascani to Ungheni. The first lot has already been awarded to a contractor, two other lots are under bidding, and the segment that includes the works on the territory of Moldova is integrated into the final portion, carried out under an accelerated procedure.

"We are not only talking about the first 5 kilometers of highway to be built in the Moldova, but also about an important logistics facility: an intermodal node and a platform that will connect the highway with the railway system," the official added.

He underlined that the Romanian authorities were working closely with institutions of Moldova, in order to overcome administrative obstacles, since the project is a first of its kind:

"It is not easy for Romania to build infrastructure on the territory of Moldova, but I am convinced that both the ministries and the road companies in both countries will do everything possible to meet the timetable."

According to the estimates presented, 2030 is the target year for this infrastructure to be opened to traffic.