The Romanian government is in talks to buy Moldova’s only port, amid interest from a Bulgarian company.
The Port of Giurgiulești, officially the Giurgiulești International Free Port, is a port on the Danube River at its confluence with the Prut. It is Moldova’s only port accessible to seagoing vessels, situated at km 133 of the River Danube in the south of Moldova near the borders of Romania and Ukraine. It handles a wide variety of cargoes and has depths alongside of 7 m.
Bucharest is in talks with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), which currently holds full ownership of the port through Danube Logistics.
Romanian prime minister Marcel Ciolacu has in the past discussed acquiring Giurgiulești as a complementary asset to Constanța, Romania’s top port, which is undergoing significant expansion at present, buoyed in no small part by plenty of new cargo from neighbour, Ukraine.
BMF Port Burgas from Bulgaria has also expressed interest in investing in Giurgiulești.