UZ will take part in a project to restore a railway corridor more than 400 km long on the territory of Moldova

JSC “Ukrzaliznytsia” (UZ) will take part in a project to restore a railway corridor more than 400 km long on the territory of Moldova, which is being carried out, among other things, to increase exports of agricultural products from Ukraine.

As the company's press service reported on Wednesday, UZ signed the relevant memorandum with the state enterprise “Moldovan Railways”.

“The signing of the memorandum is a continuation of our cooperation, which will make it possible to expand logistics capabilities between the countries and increase export potential. It is also the first example of the implementation of a large joint project between partner countries that is financed by international institutions,” said the chairman of the UZ board, Yevhen Liashchenko, as quoted by the press service.

The project is being implemented under the “Solidarity Lanes” initiative with the support of the European Commission and involves works on the Valcineț – Ocnița – Bălți – Ungheni – Chișinău – Căinari route, which is more than 400 km long. Financing is provided by partners and international financial institutions. The works on the section are planned to be completed by the end of 2024.

“Thanks to the restoration of the infrastructure, the capacity of the section will be increased, the speed of trains on it will be raised, and the quality of freight transport will be improved,” the report quotes the director general of the state enterprise “Moldovan Railways”, Oleg Tofilat.

He stressed that Ukraine has the necessary equipment and highly qualified staff who carry out infrastructure projects of any complexity quickly and to a high standard, as was confirmed both during the work to restore infrastructure destroyed in the course of hostilities and through the implementation of complex infrastructure projects, including with international partners.

For his part, the chairman of the UZ board recalled that Ukrainian and Moldovan railway workers already have successful experience of cooperating on infrastructure projects. For example, Ukrainian railway workers helped colleagues from Moldova to restore part of a section as part of the Berezyne – Basarabeasca reconstruction project. The work was completed in record time.

Ukraine and Moldova are participants in the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T), which the European Union is building in order to connect Europe from west to east and from north to south with a network of roads, railways, airports and waterways.

As reported, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has approved a loan of EUR23 million to Moldovan Railways (Calea Ferată din Moldova, CFM) to restore two sections of the North–South railway corridor of Moldova: Valcineț – Bălți – Ungheni and Chișinău – Căinari. The project will also receive a EUR20 million European Union investment grant through the rapid response component of the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument – Global Europe (NDICI – GE). Part of the financing, EUR71 million, will be covered by Moldovan Railways.