Top European bank to further support Moldova's authorities to carry out investment projects of national importance

Chisinau, 11 May /MOLDPRES/ - The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) will further support Moldova’s authorities to carry out investment projects of national importance, especially the ones in the energy sector. EBRD First Vice President Phil Bennett and the bank’s vice president, Betsy Nelson, made statements to this effect at a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister, Economics Minister Octavian Calmic in Nicosia (Cyprus) on 10 May.   

According to the Economics Ministry’s press service, the EBRD officials appreciated the Moldovan authorities’ efforts in the process of reforming the financial and banking sectors, the fields of energy, infrastructure, etc. They noted that EBRD would further back the processes of Moldova’s modernization, implemented by the government, contributing logistically and financially to the carrying out of investment projects in Moldova. In the context, the sides discussed aspects of implementing and financing projects on interconnection of electric energy and natural gas transport networks between Moldova and Romania, on modernization of the Termoelectrica stock company and state enterprise Railway of Moldova.    

Also, the officials tackled the issue of EBRD’s more active participation in the process of identifying potential investors in commercial banks of Moldova, as well as the need to attract more private companies for financing investment projects in Moldova.  

For his part, Octavian Calmic highly appreciated the bilateral cooperation with EBRD, stressing that this institution is one of the strategic partners of Moldova in the process of implementing different projects in the sectors of energy and infrastructure, financial and banking sector, development of small- and medium-sized enterprises, etc. The economics minister also approached the issue of EBRD’s flexibility to the conditions of launching the project on modernization of the stock company Apa-Canal from Chisinau, the implementation of which will allow settling more problems for the Moldovan capital’s residents.    

At the same time, the officials of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development expressed concern about the low level of absorption by Moldova of the financial resources provided by EBRD to the country (about 21 per cent, according to the statistics of 2016) and asked the Moldovan authorities to undertake more efficient measures to settle the concerned problem.   

In his capacity of Moldova’s governor at EBRD, Deputy Prime Minister, Economics Minister Octavian Calmic participates in the annual meeting of the board of governors of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the business forum of people from the economic, political and diplomatic sectors, held in Cyprus on 9-11 May.    

Since the beginning of its activity in Moldova, EBRD has financed 115 projects worth over one billion euros. The present portfolio of EBRD is of 485 million euros, of which about 69 per cent (333 million), earmarked for infrastructure, 13 per cent (65 million) for the energy sector, nine per cent (45 million) for industry, trade and agriculture and nine per cent (42 million euros) for financial institutions.  

(Reporter A. Mardare, editor M. Jantovan)