Luxembourg, 23/10/2006 (Agence Europe) - The Bucharest metro is to benefit from a €60 million loan from the European Investment Bank (EIB). The loan agreement was signed last Friday in Athens. It will support the capital's ongoing extension and modernisation of the metro contributing to the improvement of the system's safety and operational efficiency.
Part of the loan will be used to finance track extension linking the East/West axis of the city, whereas another portion of the loan is committed to the acquisition of 6 new metro trains and the modernisation of the electrical installation. The project complements two previous loans provided to Metrorex in 1996 and 2000, worth €215 million. Metrorex, the final loan beneficiary, is a state-owned company established in 1977, responsible for underground passenger transport in the city's metropolitan area and setting the benchmark for assured quality and genuine service to the public. Mr Liviu Soava, Metrorex's Director General, said the EIB's third investment in Bucharest metro comes at a very opportune time. With passenger levels averaging around 130,000 people a day, it is important to cater for their services in the best way possible, and the Bank's loan is helping to do that.
EIB is one of the largest investors in Romania, having committed more than €4.3 billion in around 47 projects since 1991, of which some €2.6 billion have been directed to the transport sector. The large variety of projects include motorways, the financing of air traffic control systems, port modernisation, road building and improvement, acquisition of rolling stock for Bucharest metro, construction and upgrading of various railway links and modernisation of the capital's tram network in addition to other investments in energy, telecom, health and education and SMEs. (ol)