The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is lending an additional €150 million to Moldova to upgrade key road networks in and around Chisinau, the Bank announced. This follows an earlier €150 million loan in 2024 and brings the EBRD’s total funding for Moldovan roads this year to €190 million, including a €40 million agreement signed in June. The financing will support the rehabilitation of major transport corridors that connect Moldova with its neighbours and EU markets.
The new loan will fund the widening of the M2 Chisinau ring road and improvements along the M1 highway from Chisinau to Leuseni, which links Moldova directly to Romania and the European Union. It will also finance equipment and software for a national Road Asset Management System to improve maintenance and planning. Both routes form part of the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T), positioning Moldova as a key gateway between the EU and Ukraine—where cross-border traffic is expected to surge during post-war recovery.
The EBRD’s investment aims to support the Moldovan government’s efforts to make road infrastructure safer and more reliable while enhancing economic growth and regional trade. Once completed, the upgrades will improve Moldova’s connection with Romania and Ukraine under the EU’s Solidarity Lanes initiative, which boosts trade routes linking Ukraine with EU markets during wartime disruptions.
The Bank’s total investment in Moldova’s road rehabilitation programme now stands at €692 million. As part of this broader effort, the EBRD is also helping the government develop a national e-mobility strategy to promote electric vehicles and the expansion of charging infrastructure.
In November 2023, the European Commission recommended opening accession talks with Moldova, which obtained EU candidate status in 2022. Strengthening transport links remains crucial for the country’s growth as it adapts to trade disruptions caused by Russia’s war on Ukraine. Moldova’s location—between Romania, Ukraine, and the Danube River via the Giurgiulesti port—makes it a vital transport hub for regional and European trade.
The EBRD is Moldova’s largest institutional investor, having provided €1.7 billion since the start of the war in Ukraine to cushion the country from economic shocks. To date, it has invested nearly €2.9 billion in 195 projects in Moldova, with more than 60% directed toward sustainable infrastructure.
