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Bucharest, Romania, July 6, 2012
—IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is investing up to €12 million in S.C. Transport Trade Services (TTS Group) and its subsidiaries to improve shipping and logistics services in Romania, especially across the country’s Danube River Basin, boosting trade and industry in the entire region.
This investment will contribute to further develop the Danube corridor as a bulk commodity transportation route, particularly benefiting the agricultural sector and other export-oriented industries. River transport is the most cost-effective and environmentally benign way to ship goods. The increased use of river shipping can significantly reduce transportation costs and increase trade for several basic industries, including agriculture, chemicals, metals, and mining.
Mircea Mihailescu, TTS Group President, said, “EU policy is to sustain the shift to inland navigation in Europe, allocating significant funds for this purpose. The EU Danube Strategy is part of this policy, and the objective to improve mobility and multi-modality directly addresses infrastructure and the river fleets. It is just the right moment for TTS to join forces with IFC in supporting EU policies of routing more cargo to the river. This is the first step in a long-term project to be done with IFC’s support.”
Tomasz Telma, IFC Director for Europe and Central Asia, said, “Our investment will help TTS to acquire new vessels and further develop operations at ports on the Danube and in Constanta. The increased use of the Danube corridor can significantly improve trade and exports not only from Romania, but also from Austria, Bulgaria, Germany, Hungary and Serbia.”
TTS is the leading Romanian provider of freight forwarding services for bulk commodities across the Danube River system. Through its subsidiaries, TTS offers a comprehensive suite of other logistics services, including river shipping, direct and indirect transshipment, port and harbor services, warehousing brokerage, and stevedoring services.
Romania became a member of IFC in 1990, and the institution’s portfolio in the country today stands at $659 million. Through a combination of investments and advisory services, IFC supports private enterprises across the country in a wide variety of sectors, including financial markets, agriculture, manufacturing, infrastructure, and health care.
About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution focused exclusively on the private sector. We help developing countries achieve sustainable growth by financing investment, providing advisory services to businesses and governments, and mobilizing capital in the international financial markets. In fiscal 2011, amid economic uncertainty across the globe, we helped our clients create jobs, strengthen environmental performance, and contribute to their local communities—all while driving our investments to an all-time high of nearly $19 billion. For more information, visit
www.ifc.org
.
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