The European Investment Bank (EIB) has canceled a EUR 465 million loan it had granted Romania to build a new metro line in Bucharest because the project was delayed.

Romania received the loan in 2011 for building the Universitate – Pantelimon metro line segment. But since the state did not use any money from the loan between 2013 and 2016, the EIB has canceled the loan, according to an audit by the Court of Auditors. The state would have to end the financing contract.

The line segment the EIB had agreed to finance is part of the M5 metro line, currently under construction, connecting the Drumul Taberei and Iancului neighbourhoods. The Universitate – Pantelimon segment should be 8 kilometers long and have 13 stations.

Representatives of Bucharest subway operator Metrorex said recently that the subway line five, which connects the Drumul Taberei residential area to the city center, may become operational in early 2019. The subway line project to Drumul Taberei is one of the most complex infrastructure projects in Bucharest after 1990. The project started in 2011 and should have been finalized in 2014, but numerous delays pushed the deadline to end-2018.

editor@romania-insider.com