— 934 thousand tons of transshipped goods via GIFP in 2020, despite restricted exports of cereals in the second half of 2020 due to severe drought and the Coronavirus pandemic

— Bustling activities at GIFP with almost completed, underway and upcoming new construction projects

— Fair access of investors to the rules of law in the Republic of Moldova hampered by the ongoing attempt to expropriate Danube Logistics Holding BV’s and the EBRD‘s interests in Danube Logistics SRL via the Moldovan justice system

The operations and construction projects at Giurgiulești International Free Port (GIFP) were the key topics discussed during the visit of His Excellency Mr. Roelof van Ees, the Ambassador of the Netherlands to Romania and the Republic of Moldova, and Mr. Floris van Eijk, Head of the Dutch Embassy Office in the Republic of Moldova, at GIFP on Wednesday, February 24. Mathias von Tucher, the General Director of Danube Logistics SRL, outlined that GIFP continues to support Moldova’s international trade despite the challenges caused by the pandemic and, in particular, the 50% reduction of grain exports (i.e. -250 thousand tonnes compared to 2019) due to the bad harvest. GIFP still recorded a transshipment volume of 934 thousand tons in 2020, proving the importance of the unobstructed shipment of goods by maritime and river vessels for Moldovan importers and exporters.

Mr. von Tucher stated that the development of GIFP is in full swing with new facilities in construction: the ethanol and wine storage facilities are almost finalized, and the works at a state-of-the-art crushing plant for production of vegetable oil are progressing fast. In addition, two further resident companies envisage to start the construction of grain storage facilities.

The General Director of Danube Logistics SRL also discussed with the Dutch Ambassador the ongoing attempt to expropriate Danube Logistics Holding BV’s and the EBRD‘s interests in Danube Logistics SRL via the Moldovan justice system. H.E. Mr. Roelof van Ees expressed his concern about the current legal proceedings and recent court decisions: “It is crucial for the Republic of Moldova to uphold the rule of law and protect the legitimate interests of foreign investors in the country. Otherwise, Moldova will miss out on much-needed foreign direct investment and economic growth.”

Danube Logistics SRL, the operator and general investor of Giurgiulesti International Free Port, is wholly owned by the Dutch company Danube Logistics Holding B.V. According to a participation agreement the EBRD is entitled as of today to 65% of the dividend and share sales proceeds related to Danube Logistics Holding BV’s shareholding in Danube Logistics SRL.

The equipment shipped by the Belgian logistics specialist Projects & Industrial Logistics BVBA from the port of Straubing (Germany) reached its destination at Giurgiulesti International Free Port (GIFP) yesterday, on February 21^st, after a 10-day journey down the Danube river.

It took 3 hours to our experienced cargo terminal operators at GIFP to complete successfully the unloading of 8 heavy pieces of up to 42 tons using our mobile heavy cargo crane. The oversized pieces with a width of up to 7 m were loaded on special heavy cargo trucks to be further delivered to Südzucker Moldova. Given the extra width of these loaded units, a separate temporary exit has been constructed so as to accommodate the transportation process.

Danube Logistics is an Associated Strategic Partner within the DIONYSUS project, a project co-funded by European Union funds under the Danube Transnational Programme with the objective of “Integrating Danube Region into Smart & Sustainable Multi-modal & Intermodal Transport Chains”. Danube Logistics is in close collaboration with the Technical University of the Rep. of Moldova (UTM), a European Neighbourhood Instrument Project Partner and as such leading the Moldovan aspects of the DIONYSUS project.

On 13 November 2020 a delegation from UTM headed by Associate Professor Dr Victor Ceban, Head of the Department of Transport, visited Giurgiulesti International Free Port. Mathias von Tucher, General Director of Danube Logistics, presented the port facilities and its multi-modal logistic and intermodal connections. Potentials and barriers for future developments were discussed taking into account bottlenecks of hinterland connections. Danube Logistics is looking forward to collaborate with the experts of the UTM on the DIONYSUS project.

Within his campaign for the forthcoming presidential elections the incumbent President Igor Dodon visited Giurgiulesti International Free Port on 6 October 2020. Mathias von Tucher, General Director of Danube Logistics SRL, informed President Dodon about this year’s challenges due to the pandemic and the poor harvest as well as about the successful transshipment of new types of operations such as the import of scrap metal, skimmer pig iron, steel coils and grain.

Furthermore, Mathias von Tucher updated the President about the numerous ongoing investment projects within Giurgiulesti International Free Port and in this context the delegation visited the construction site of the port resident Danube Oil Company, which aims to start the operation of the new vegetable oil crushing plant fitted with the latest technology in 2021.