EBRD invests in Ungheni-Chisinau gas pipeline

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is strengthening Moldova’s energy security with the €20mn acquisition of a 25% stake in Vestmoldtransgaz, the gas transmission company that is operating the newly built Ungheni-Chisinau gas pipeline.

Founded in 2014, Vestmoldtransgaz owns and manages a gas pipeline network in western Moldova. In 2018 it was taken over by Eurotransgaz, a subsidiary of SNTGN Transgaz, the company operating the Romanian natural gas transmission system.

The 120 km Ungheni-Chisinau gas pipeline will complete connection of the gas transmission systems of Romania and Moldova by linking the capital Chisinau to the Iasi-Ungheni interconnector between the eastern Romanian city of Iasi and Ungheni, a Moldovan town on the Romanian border. The pipeline will enable Moldova – a country more than 90% dependent on energy imports – to diversify its energy sources.

According to Alain Pilloux, EBRD Vice President, the project will also help integrate Moldova into future major gas infrastructure projects such as the Trans Adriatic Pipeline and gas sources from central European hubs, and link it with Black Sea gas deposits. ‘Greater integration will deliver economic benefits for consumers,’ he says.

Construction of the €90mn pipeline has also been supported by a €38mn loan from the European Investment Bank (EIB) and an equity investment from Eurotransgaz.