Transylvania and Banat, whose population reaches 6.8 million people or one third of Romania’s population, have attracted about 16 billion lei (EUR3.6 billion) investments in highways and national roads in the past five years, while Moldavia, a region with a population of 4.2 million people, only got RON1.8 billion, according to a ZF and Business Construct analysis based on the data supplied by Romania’s national company in charge of highways and national roads (CNADNR).
On the other hand, the south of Romania, which consists of Oltenia, Muntenia and Dobruja and has a population of 7.3 million (excluding Bucharest), attracted RON4.6 billion for highways and national roads in 2010-2014.
The disproportionate allocation of funds for road infrastructure is connected to the export value. Transylvania and Banat exported RON98 billion worth last year, while Moldavia exported 15 times less. The south of Romania, excluding Bucharest, generated RON77 billion exports. This particular area, however, includes Arges County, where the country’s largest exporter, Renault-owned Automobile Dacia, is based. Dacia’s car exports stand at RON17 billion to RON18 billion a year, according to ZF data.
“Moldavia should get much higher investments to close the infrastructure gap,” economic analyst Aurelian Dochia said.
“Still, there’s a vicious circle here. Investors go where infrastructure is already good and put pressure to have it improved, so the regions lagging behind in this respect do not attract investors and cannot ask for more money because they will be told, ‘you haven’t got any investors, why develop the infrastructure’.”
Moldavia is the poorest region in Romania, with a per capita GDP of merely EUR4,300, compared with the national average of some EUR7,500. While highway and national road allocation per person was RON2,400 on average in Transylvania in 2010-2014, in Oltenia, Muntenia and Dobruja it stood at RON630 and reached RON428 in Moldavia.
On the other hand, exports per capita amounted to RON14,400 in central and western Romania, RON10,500 in the south of the country and RON3,571 in Moldavia, according to ZF calculations.
“Moldavia will need infrastructure connections to develop. The Iasi Airport generates business but it’s not enough. If you manufacture something, you need to be able transport and export it, you need to be able to cross the Carpathians with your trucks,” says Costin Borc, chief executive officer of Lafarge Romania, the local subsidiary of France’s Lafarge, as quoted by Business Construct.
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)