Romania's government will approve on Wednesday a plan to upgrade rail infrastructure in the Black Sea port of Constanta to create a second railroad access point, part of wider investments in the port triggered by Russia's war in Ukraine.
European Union and NATO member Romania has become Ukraine's biggest alternative grain export route since Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022 and its port of Constanta has drawn an influx of investment, including European Union funds to increase its capacity.
"We continue to invest in developing Constanta port, a strategic objective for Romania," Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu said at the start of a cabinet meeting. "The target is to transform the port into a Black Sea logistics hub."
The government will allot over 750 million lei ($162.50 million) for railroad rehabilitations works.
In August, Romania said it aimed to buy neighbouring Moldova's Danube River port of Giurgiulesti from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) as it seeks to boost its logistics role in central and southeast Europe.
Ukraine has shipped 5.17 million metric tons of grain via Constanta in the first nine months of 2024.
Apart from Ukrainian grain exports, interest in Constanta was also boosted as companies relocated operations to Eastern European low-cost manufacturing hubs to shorten supply chains.
($1 = 4.6155 lei)
(Reuters - Reporting by Luiza Ilie; Editing by Barbara Lewis)