World Bank doubts Government can build Ploiesti-Brasov highway

The Romanian Government is unlikely to succeed building the Ploiesti-Brasov highway segment using a 2005 feasibility study, said World Bank’s Country Manager Tatiana Proskuryakova, according to local Hotnews.ro. She expressed her disappointment about the government decision to give up cooperation with the World Bank (WB) in developing the project, as her team had a good plan and invested a lot in preparing the investment. The WB would have provided a EUR 35 million financial support to the Romanian state to help build a financing mechanism that would have allowed the state to draw EU funds for this project more quickly. The WB representative said she found out from the media that the Government gave up this project. Moreover, Proskuryakova has doubts that a public-private partnership (PPP) would work out for the project and advised local authorities to fundamentally improve the feasibility study. The Ploiesti-Brasov link is a segment in an important highway that should cross mountains to Transylvania. The former PM asked for financial and technical support from the WB for building it in October 2017. Yet, the government recently announced the intention to give up cooperation with the WB and develop the project in PPP. editor@romania-insider.com