The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) will provide the Republic of Moldova with a loan of 300 million euros to increase energy security by acquiring strategic gas reserves to complement those currently supplied by Russia through Ukraine, the Ministry of Infrastructure and Regional Development (MIDR) has reported.
The loan, granted in the context of the “EBRD Resilience and Livelihoods Framework”, with a total budget of 2 billion euros, to support Ukraine and neighboring countries affected by the security crisis in the region, will be divided into two tranches: EUR 200 million will be used, if necessary, to increase the country’s resilience in the event of possible limitations / interruptions in the supply of natural gas; 100 million euros can be used to create a strategic reserve of natural gas that will be stored in Romania or Ukraine.
“The purpose of the transaction is to ensure the uninterrupted gas supply of our country and to protect the basic needs of 2.7 million Moldovans and refugees from Ukraine. And the recent progress made by our country in the implementation of the third energy package of the EU and the commissioning of a gas interconnection between Romania and Moldova provides the technical means to replace the supply of energy from EU nodes in case of supply limitations / cessation,” indicates MIDR.
According to Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Spinu, Minister of Infrastructure and Regional Development, this loan from the EBRD is an important pillar to become more independent and more resistant to energy challenges, by creating other new alternatives for natural gas delivery in Europe.
The EBRD is one of the main investors in the Republic of Moldova and, so far, has invested over 1.5 billion euros through 154 projects. It has also provided consulting services to over 1,000 companies in the country to help them improve their performance and grow. (Moldpres/Business World Magazine)
