Romania's Metrorex takes loan from the state to pay debt to French company Alstom

Romanian metro operator Metrorex will take a EUR 40 million loan from the state to pay its debts to the French company Alstom. The money will be given as a five- year loan, with a two-year grace period. The interest will be the one established by the central bank’s monetary policy, plus four percentage points. “We're talking about a 15 years contract which amounts to about EUR 10 million annually for maintenance of the rolling stock. According to the contract, the state must have ensured the payment amounts, but starting 2007, it didn't,” said Gheorghe Udriste, CEO Metrorex, quoted by Money.ro. Metrorex' debts to Alstom represents the value of services performed by the French company and unpaid for the years 2009 and 2010. Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com