By the end of 2025, the Belgorod-Dnistrovsky port plans to begin shipping transit cargo from Asia to the European Union via a new railway route through Moldova and Romania. According to Igor Bilyk, First Deputy Director of the port, the route to the Romanian city of Galati is 320 km long, of which 182 km pass through Ukraine, 129 km through Moldova and 9 km through Romania.
A key factor in the implementation of the project was the large-scale reconstruction of the Bender – Bessarabyasca – Etuliya – Giurgiulesti railway section in Moldova. The work, which began in 2022, is scheduled to be completed in 2025 and includes the modernization of 230 km of track. The total cost of the project is 108 million euros, provided by the European Investment Bank and the EBRD. Temirzhol Zhendeu LLC, a company from Kazakhstan, has been selected as the contractor.
According to Bilyk, the updated infrastructure will increase the speed of trains to 90 km/h, remove restrictions on cargo capacity, reduce delivery times and ensure stable transit between the railway systems of Ukraine, Moldova and the EU. The new route should become an important link in the region’s logistics and will contribute to the development of international trade.