Romania’s Transport Ministry will pay EUR 1.2 million worth of consultancy and evaluation services for state-owned railway freight operator CFR Marfa’s privatization.

It will also allocate EUR 45,000 for advertising as part of the consultant’s selection process, reports local Wall-street.ro.

The Government plans to prepare for the privatization of two state-owned companies, namely CFR Marfa and the state – controlled airline Tarom, by the end of his year.

In June, Prime Minister Victor Ponta said that the Government has started negotiations with several companies, including Turkish Airlines, to sell a stake in Tarom. The state will keep a 51% stake in the company if the investor is from outside the EU, or will keep a minority stake if the investor is from within the EU.

The authorities also announced last months that they could change the privatization strategy for CFR Marfa, and they could sell a 51% stake in the company on the stock market.

editor@romania-insider.com