Romania is building a highway to Ukraine. The work continues around the clock

Romania is constructing a new highway that will lead to the border with Ukraine, aiming to provide Ukraine with access to Romanian ports while bypassing, among other routes, those through Poland. According to media reports, construction work is progressing around the clock, involving thousands of employees and hundreds of pieces of equipment.

As reported by Romanian media, including the "Ziarul de Vrancea" portal, the highway is being built in emergency mode. The investment is linked to the “Moldavian Highway”, which is intended to serve as a new transport corridor for Ukraine in the future.

Approximately 3,000 employees and hundreds of vehicles work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The highway is to provide Ukraine with access to Romanian ports, bypassing Poland, Hungary, and Slovakia.

Romania. Highway to the border with Ukraine

The highway is anticipated to connect Bucharest with the border, with the project scheduled for completion in the last quarter of 2024. Journalists report that approximately 3,000 workers and hundreds of pieces of equipment have been mobilized for construction, and work is ongoing 24/7, as stated on “The Odesa Journal” website.

Once the highway is operational, Ukraine will gain access to Romanian ports and establish a new transport corridor to European Union countries. This becomes particularly relevant considering the blockade of Ukrainian product transport through Poland, Hungary, and Slovakia, as emphasized by "The Odesa Journal".

The completion of this project is expected to have a significant impact on the economic and social development of the entire region, enhancing Romania's road infrastructure, as added in the text.

The projected length of the new highway is 450 kilometers.

Polish-Ukrainian border. Blockades and protests

On November 6, a protest by Polish carriers began in Dorohusk and Korczowa (Podkarpacie Voivodeship), and in Hrebenne (Lublin Voivodeship). Carriers are demanding the introduction of commercial permits for Ukrainian companies transporting goods, excluding humanitarian aid and supplies for the Ukrainian army.

They are also calling for the suspension of licenses for companies established after the outbreak of the war in Ukraine and their inspection. A proposal to eliminate the so-called electronic queue on the Ukrainian side is also part of their demands.

An agreement was reached on Saturday between the farmers protesting at the border in Medyka and the Minister of Agriculture. The suspension of the protest that had been ongoing since November 23 was announced. The minister pledged to implement all three farmers' demands. Minister Czesław Siekierski stated, "This agreement is neither the beginning nor the end of the dialogue that we have started and will continue with farmers. We want to solve problems through full partnership discussion".

"We understand the need to help Ukraine, but at the same time, we want certain regulations to be introduced that would determine the permissible size of various goods that may affect the European market,"
Minister Czesław Siekierski added.

As a result of the carriers' protest on the Polish-Ukrainian border, exports dropped by 40 percent and also led to state budget losses of over UAH 9 billion, said Danylo Hetmantsev, head of the Committee on Finance, Tax Policy, and Customs of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine at the beginning of December.