DP World secures EU-backed loan for Romania terminal upgrade
DP World is using a blend of EBRD debt, EU grants, and national funds to finance a €100m electrification of its Romanian Black Sea terminal, a strategic logistics hub amid shifting Eastern European trade routes.
DP World has secured a €25m loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development to fund a €100m electrification programme at its Constanta South Container Terminal in Romania.
The financing structure highlights how major port operators are using blended public-private capital to fund heavy infrastructure upgrades without solely relying on corporate balance sheets. The EBRD green loan forms the anchor of the package. It is supplemented by a €19.7m grant from the EU’s Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Facility, with the EBRD acting as the implementing partner. A further €7.5m comes from Romania’s Transport Programme 2021-2027, leaving the remainder to be funded directly by DP World.
The capital is being deployed at a site with a concession lasting until 2049. Constanta is rapidly gaining strategic weight as an alternative cargo gateway linking Central Europe to the Black Sea, Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova. As traditional logistics routes in the region remain disrupted, modernizing this terminal allows DP World to secure a larger share of shifting freight volumes while insulating the asset against future carbon pricing and volatile diesel costs.
The €100m investment is divided into two distinct components. The first, valued at €53.8m, focuses on foundational electrification. This includes building new electrical networks, transformer facilities, and shore power systems that allow vessels to plug into the port grid while docked. It also covers a new connection to the main power station, access road rehabilitation, and the purchase of 10 electric terminal tractors with charging equipment.
The second component, worth €46.2m, expands the electric fleet. It funds remotely operated electric rubber-tyred gantry cranes, two electric mobile harbour cranes and additional electric terminal tractors. Once operational, the transition from diesel-powered machinery is expected to reduce the terminal’s CO2 emissions by more than 6,000 tonnes per year.
"We are delighted to partner with DP World on this first transaction to support the modernisation of the Port of Constanta and demonstrate that competitiveness and decarbonisation can go hand in hand," said EBRD Regional Director for Romania Victoria Zinchuk. She described the financing as a landmark investment for Romania's logistics sector.
