Romania will invest €43.5bn in infrastructure projects in the next 15 years under a transport master plan approved by the government on September 16. The plan envisages the construction of 6,800km of roads and the modernisation of 5,000km of railways by 2030. 

Investors have repeatedly underlined that the lack of modern infrastructure in Romania affects their productivity and exports, while poor infrastructure also keeps investment away. Romania lost a €500mn investment from German car producer Daimler because of its weak infrastructure, Economy Minister Costin Borc said in May. Automobile Dacia’s former general manager Nicolas Maure estimated that a motorway connecting the plant with the Sibiu-Nadlac motorway in the western part of the country, and further with Hungary and Western Europe, would help the company save €30 on each car it produces in Romania.

The strategic document establishes the main directions of transport infrastructure development in the following 15 years in terms of road, rail, air and multimodal transport. The document presents the general framework for transport infrastructure development, financing sources and the project implementation strategy, the government said in a statement.

“The master plan secures the construction of more than 6,800km of road, of which 1,500km of motorway and more than 1,300km of express roads,” Transport Minister Sorin Buse said, according to News.ro.

Buse added that the master plan also envisages measures for the modernisation of 5,000km of railway, 12 airports and 32 ports. This master plan is one of the conditions for Romania to draw EU funds drawing for transport and infrastructure projects, he said.

Also on September 14, the government approved an emergency ordinance on the reorganisation of the national road company CNADNR and the setting up of the National Company for Road Investments (CNIR) which will manage road infrastructure.

By reorganizing CNADNR, the government aims to develop the country’s transport network in the long term and to avoid delays in the implementation of projects developed with EU funds.

CNADNR will change its name to the National Company for Road Infrastructure Management (CNAIR) and its main activity will be the maintenance, management and operation of motorways and roads. CNIR will deal with road infrastructure development projects. CNAIR will transfer road infrastructure projects to CNIR in stages over a period of three years.