Romania has agreed to purchase the operator of Moldova’s Giurgiulești International Free Port from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). The move is of strategic importance, as the port is Moldova’s only direct link to international maritime trade via the Danube and plays a key role in the region’s supply chains.
Under the agreement, the Romanian state-owned Constanța Port Authority will acquire Danube Logistics, the main operator of the port of Giurgiulești. Following a global competitive tendering process, the EBRD selected Romania as a strategic investor committed to developing the infrastructure in the long term, increasing capacity and strengthening the port’s role in the Danube and Black Sea trade network.
The port is particularly important for Moldova, as more than 70% of the country’s maritime imports and exports pass through it. Its location, close to the border between Romania and Ukraine along the Danube, makes it a key logistics hub and could also be an important starting point for reconstruction in Ukraine in the future.
Romania plans to invest heavily in modernising the port, including infrastructure development, construction of new terminals, upgrading of rail connections, and introduction of digital systems. The aim is to integrate Giurgiulești more closely into European transport and trade corridors, while strengthening Moldova’s economic stability and regional relations.
The acquisition also serves to strengthen Romania’s regional role. The port of Constanța is already a key logistics hub in the Black Sea region, and the acquisition of the Moldovan port could further increase Bucharest’s influence on Central and Eastern European trade routes, especially in light of the supply chain disruptions caused by the war in Ukraine.
