RLF - Moldovan Railways Crisis Response 23m loan

Overview
Project Summary Document
Environmental and Social Documentation
Procurement
Complaints

Overview

The operation will finance the acquisition of materials required for the rehabilitation of railway infrastructure on Moldova's Valcinets - Balti - Ungheni section (under Tranche I) and the Chisinau - Cainari section (under Tranche II) (together referred to as the "Project").

Project ID 54122

Status Signed

Location

Moldova

Business Sector

Transport

Notice Type

State

Project timeline

Exploratory
Passed Concept Review
Passed Structure Review
Passed Final Review
Board Approved
Signed
Implementing
Completed

Company Contact Information

Mr. Oleg Tofilat, General Director
oleg.tofilat@railway.md
(+373) 22 83-33-33
(+373) 22-834-204
http://www.railway.md/
Republica Moldova, Chisinau MD-2012, str. Vlaicu Pircalab 48

Project ID 54122

Status Signed

Location

Moldova

Business Sector

Transport

Notice Type

State

Environmental Category

Approval Date

14 Mar 2023

Disclosure date

15 Mar 2023

As per section 1.4.2 (iii) of the Directive on Access to Information: "For Projects approved by Bank management where the Board of Directors has delegated the approval authority, the PSD shall be disclosed at the start of the relevant no-objection notification period to a member country of the Bank in accordance with Article 13 (iii) of the Agreement Establishing the EBRD."

RLF - Moldovan Railways Crisis Response 23m loan (Romanian) (PDF, 0.13MB)

Project description

Project objectives

The Project will support Moldova's economic development, increase its logistics and transit potential and bring operational efficiency from improved regional infrastructure through the rehabilitation of the railway sections on the North-South Rail Corridor.

The Project will facilitate the transportation of goods via alternative routes from Ukraine via Moldova to the EU. This aims to ensure food security and improves the access for Ukrainian goods to the largest operable port at the Black Sea, Constanta, as well as to ports in Romania, Moldova and Ukraine - at Galati, Reni, Ismail and Giurgiulesti, with a cumulative operating capacity that can absorb a significant part of Ukraine's export needs.

The Project supports the shift from high to low-carbon modes of transport as the goods from and to Ukraine via Moldova are predominantly transported by road due to the lack of capacity of the Moldovan North-Central railway network. The Project is expected to increase the throughput capacity and lift speed restrictions on the current rail infrastructure.

Transition impact

ETI Score:70

Resilient - The Project facilitates the transportation of goods via alternative routes from Ukraine via Moldova to the European Union. It also increases the logistic and transit potential of the country's national railway transport network, contributing to Moldova's sustainable economic development.
Green - By improving the rail infrastructure, the Project increases the throughput capacity and lifts speed restrictions on the existing rail infrastructure. The expected result is a larger volume of traffic opting to use the rail network rather than the road network (modal shift).

Client information

MOLDOVA SOVEREIGN

The loan is made to the Republic of Moldova. Calea Ferata din Moldova ("CFM") is a national railway operator in the Republic of Moldova responsible for passenger and cargo transportation, as well as infrastructure management. The CFM will be responsible for the implementation of the Project.

EBRD Finance Summary

EUR 23,000,000.00

A sovereign loan of up to EUR 23 million to the Republic of Moldova.

The EBRD Loan will consist of Tranche I of up to EUR 12 million (committed at signing) and Tranche II of up to EUR 11 million (uncommitted).

Total project cost

EUR 71,000,000.00

The Project also benefits from an investment grant of up to EUR 20 million from the European Union via its Foreign Policy Needs Instrument, as well as up to EUR 28 million co-financing from the CFM's funds/state budget.

Additionality

Financing Structure (including financing availability, tenor, crisis response and public sector financing gap);
Standard-setting: helping projects and clients achieve higher standards (including higher environmental standards, energy and resource efficiency and climate resilience);
Knowledge, innovation, and capacity building (including strengthening the capacity of the client).

Environmental & Social Summary

Categorised B (ESP 2019). Environmental and Social Due Diligence ("ESDD") was undertaken by an independent consultant and included a review of the status of the Environmental and Social Action Plan ("ESAP") implementation for the previous transaction, document review and discussions with the CFM and a site visit to selected locations along the existing railway. The ESDD confirmed that impacts associated with the acquisition of materials and subsequent rehabilitation of an existing railway line are expected to be site-specific and readily mitigated. An ESAP has been agreed with CFM to ensure the Project is structured to comply with the Performance Requirements ("PRs"), and TC support for an E&S consultant will be provided to assist with implementation.

Impacts during the construction phase will be mitigated through good construction practice and standard mitigation measures to be defined in a Construction Phase Environmental and Social Management Plan ("ESMP"), occupational health and safety plan and a waste management plan which will be developed to manage hazardous waste including railway sleepers and contaminated ballast. The construction contractor will be required to comply with the PR2 requirements and an updated CFM code of conduct.

Some rehabilitation works will be undertaken close to or within nationally protected areas or Emerald sites; however, since the work is undertaken on the existing railway and with the application of mitigation measures in the ESMP, impacts are not expected to be significant or affect the conservation objectives of these areas. If required, CFM must undertake an appropriate environmental impact assessment for approval by the relevant authorities. CFM will be required to undertake targeted monitoring in the operational phase to confirm the absence of impacts on biodiversity due to increased rail traffic. Areas of a high community safety risk, such as informal rail crossings, will be systematically identified by the CFM and signalled and fenced to minimise the risks of accidents. The Moldovan Railway Code has recently been updated to align with the EU requirements, including the Railway Safety Directive, and implementation is ongoing by the CFM in accordance with the approved deadlines. TC support will be provided to the CFM to scope areas of future assistance on safety management given the relatively high number of safety incidents being recorded during rail operations, including those involving third parties. A Stakeholder Engagement Plan ("SEP") is under preparation and will be disclosed by CFM on their website when finalised.

Gaps in the implementation of the previous ESAP will need to be addressed by CFM, including full implementation of an operations phase ESMS, which will be included in the scope of the implementation E&S consultant to assist. The Bank will monitor the implementation of the Project through the review of regular monitoring reports and site visits if required.

Technical Cooperation and Grant Financing

The Project benefits from the following post-signing technical assistance (TC) support:

Project implementation support, including project manager and environmental and social expert, estimated at up to EUR 112,000 and financed by the EBRD Shareholder Special Fund (the "SSF");
Lender's monitor consultant estimated at up to EUR 74,990, financed by the SSF;
Procurement support under "Enhancing Public Procurement Practices: Quality Assurance Capacity Building Programme"estimated at up to EUR 12,100, to be financed by the SSF;
Railway Safety Assessment estimated at up to EUR 30,000, financed by SSF under the Occupation Health and Safety Programme.

Company Contact Information

Mr. Oleg Tofilat, General Director
oleg.tofilat@railway.md
(+373) 22 83-33-33
(+373) 22-834-204
http://www.railway.md/
Republica Moldova, Chisinau MD-2012, str. Vlaicu Pircalab 48

Implementation summary

PSD last updated

15 Mar 2023

Understanding transition

Further information regarding the EBRD’s approach to measuring transition impact is available here.

Business opportunities

For business opportunities or procurement, contact the client company.

For business opportunities with the EBRD (not related to procurement) contact:

Tel: +44 20 7338 7168
Email: projectenquiries@ebrd.com

For state-sector projects, visit EBRD Procurement:

Tel: +44 20 7338 6794
Email: procurement@ebrd.com

General enquiries

Specific enquiries can be made using the EBRD Enquiries form.

Environmental and Social Policy (ESP)

The ESP and its associated Environmental and Social Requirements (ESRs) set out the ways in which the EBRD implements its commitment to promoting “environmentally sound and sustainable development”. The ESP and the ESRs include specific provisions for clients to comply with the applicable requirements of national laws on public information and consultation, and to establish a grievance mechanism to receive and facilitate resolution of stakeholders’ concerns and grievances, in particular, about the environmental and social (E&S) performance of the client and the project. Proportionate to the nature and scale of a project’s environmental and social risks and impacts, the EBRD also requires its clients to disclose information, as appropriate, about the risks and impacts of projects or to undertake meaningful consultation with stakeholders and consider and respond to their feedback.

More information on the EBRD’s practices in this regard is set out in the ESP.

Integrity and compliance

The EBRD's Office of the Chief Compliance Officer (OCCO) promotes good governance and ensures that the highest standards of integrity are applied to all of the Bank's activities in accordance with international best practice. Integrity due diligence is conducted on all Bank clients to ensure that projects do not present unacceptable integrity or reputational risks to the Bank. The EBRD believes that identifying and resolving issues in the project assessment and approval stages is the most effective means of ensuring the integrity of Bank transactions. OCCO plays a key role in these protective efforts andhelps to monitor integrity risks in projects post-investment.

OCCO is further responsible for investigating allegations of fraud, corruption and misconduct in EBRD-financed projects. Anyone, either within or outside the Bank, who suspects fraud or corruption should submit a written report to the Chief Compliance Officer by email to compliance@ebrd.com. OCCO will follow-up all matters reported. It will review all matters reported. Reports can be made in any language of the Bank or of the Bank's countries of operation. The information provided must be made in good faith.

Access to Information Policy (AIP)

The AIP, which entered into force on 1 January 2025, sets out how the EBRD discloses information and consults with its stakeholders to promote better awareness and understanding of its strategies, policies and operations. Please visit the Access to Information Policy page to find out what information is available from the EBRD website.

Specific requests for information can be made using the EBRD enquiries form.

Independent Project Accountability Mechanism (IPAM)

If efforts to address environmental, social or public disclosure concerns with the Client or the Bank are unsuccessful (for example, through the client’s project-level grievance mechanism or through direct engagement with Bank management), individuals and organisations may seek to address their concerns through the EBRD’s Independent Project Accountability Mechanism (IPAM).

IPAM independently reviews project issues that are believed to have caused (or to be likely to cause) harm. The purpose of the mechanism is: to support dialogue between project stakeholders to resolve environmental, social and public disclosure issues; to determine whether the Bank has complied with its Environmental and Social Policy or the project-specific provisions of its Access to Information Policy; and where applicable, to address any existing non-compliance with these policies, while preventing future non-compliance by the Bank.

Please visit the Independent Project Accountability Mechanism webpage to find out more about IPAM and its mandate and how to submit a Request for review. Alternatively, contact IPAM by email at ipam@ebrd.com for guidance and more information on IPAM and how to submit a request.

Environmental and Social Documentation is not available for this project.

Selected procurement notices related to this project may be shown below. Further procurement opportunities related to this and other projects, if available, maybe be viewed in the EBRD Procurement Portal.

The EBRD's Environmental and Social Policy (ESP), Access to Information policy (AIP) and Project Accountability Policy (PAP) enable sound and sustainable development in its projects. The Independent Project Accountability Mechanism (IPAM) deals with complaints about environmental, social and disclosure matters related to the Bank’s investments.

No complaints about this project have been made so far.

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RLF - Moldovan Railways Crisis Response 23m loan

Overview

Project timeline

Company Contact Information

Project description

Project objectives

Transition impact

Client information

EBRD Finance Summary

Total project cost

Additionality

Environmental & Social Summary

Technical Cooperation and Grant Financing

Company Contact Information

Implementation summary

PSD last updated

Understanding transition

Business opportunities

General enquiries

Environmental and Social Policy (ESP)

Integrity and compliance

Access to Information Policy (AIP)

Independent Project Accountability Mechanism (IPAM)