Brussels, 11/03/2002 (Agence Europe) - The European Investment Bank (EIB) has lent a total of EUR 333 million to Romania for road, shipping, water and environmental protection projects. EUR 240 million will go to Romania's National Administration of Roads for strengthening and upgrading six sections of national roads totalling 745 km in Eastern, Central and Northern Romania. Some sections are being co-financed with the European Commission's ISPA aid programme (for transport and environmental schemes in the accession countries). EUR 55 million for the cities of Braila, Cluj, Craiova, Foscani and Pascani to help local administrations build, expand or upgrade drinking water networks and treatment plants. EUR 38 million for the Lower Danube River Administration in Galati for repairing had protecting the Sulina Canal in the Danube delta near the Black Sea coast.
The EIB points out that so far it had lent nearly EUR 2.7 billion to Romania since 1991, of which more than EUR 1.7 billion has been for transport schemes. Since 1990, the EIB has lent nearly EUR 17 billion to projects in ten Central and Eastern European countries: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, Romania and Bulgaria.