Romania will modernize approximately 15 kilometers of road in Ukraine, as part of the contract for Lot 3 of the Suceava–Siret Express Road. The entire construction project is financed by the EU-backed Security Action for Europe (or SAFE) fund, meant for armament projects or infrastructure projects with a civil and military role.

The road project will have a dual role, civil and military, and will also bring benefits to a neighboring state. Both conditions have to be met to secure the funding. 

This is the first time Romania is investing in the modernization of a road in Ukraine. 

“We, Romania, are at the border with Ukraine, that is, at the border with a conflict between a European state and a major global force and power. So we have every interest in developing this type of infrastructure,” said Alin Șerbănescu, spokesperson for CNAIR, Romania’s authority for road infrastructure, cited by G4Media.

The continuation of Romanian highways onto Ukrainian territory toward Poland would create a freight and military transport corridor that would make Ukraine independent of Hungary, which has aligned itself with Russia and has refused support for Kyiv. Such a corridor would allow for quicker movement of troops and military equipment, and would also benefit NATO’s Eastern border.

Romania is already in the full process of building highways and express roads that would connect the north of the country (and Ukraine) with the Port of Constanța, with the road network of Western Europe, and with the south of the continent.

radu@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Liskonogaleksey | Dreamstime.com)