Romania will double the capacity of its main Black Sea port of Constanta and the Danube sea lanes for two months to help Ukraine export grain amid Russia's blockade of the Black Sea "grain corridor".
This was stated by the Prime Minister of Romania, Marcel Cholaku, in an interview with the Financial Times, reports Interfax-Ukraine.
He emphasized that this plan will be implemented regardless of Russia's attacks on Ukrainian ports on the other side of the Danube, on the border with Romania.
"In 2023, Ukraine will have about 40 million tons of grain for export. To (facilitate) this, we increased the capacity both in the port of Constanta and on the roads leading to the port of Constanta to make this happen. We mobilized as much as we could" , - said Cholak.
He recalled that Romania's promise to expand the corridor by deepening the Danube and expanding port infrastructure was made after Russia withdrew from the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which allowed Ukrainian grain to reach world markets through the Black Sea. Moscow also threatened commercial ships and prevented them from leaving Ukrainian ports, leading to the diversion of exports through the Danube.
"We have well learned the lessons related to Russia. We are zero dependent on Russian energy carriers and resources. Our support for Ukraine is unconditional," the Prime Minister of Romania emphasized.
According to him, increasing the carrying capacity of the Black Sea port of Constanta and other routes will allow the export of Ukrainian grain to increase to 4 million tons per month.
Cholaku said that investments are currently being made in the Sulyn canal. In addition, there are other "solutions", for example, to allow ships to transit at night from October and to increase cargo transportation to at least 14 ships per day. Doubling the size of barges also means that Ukraine will not have to use grain warehouses as often, the head of the Romanian government added.
He also promised that Romania would open more road border crossings and improve its rail infrastructure at stations bordering Ukraine to speed up the transshipment of goods.