The Port of Giurgiulești (), officially the Giurgiulești International Free Port (, PILG), is a port on the

Danube River The Danube ( ; see also other names) is the second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest south into the Black Sea. A large and historically important riv ...

at its confluence with the

Prut The Prut (also spelled in English as Pruth; , ) is a river in Eastern Europe. It is a left tributary of the Danube, and is long. Part of its course forms Romania's border with Moldova and Ukraine. Characteristics The Prut originates on the eas ...

and the only

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manch ...

Moldova Moldova, officially the Republic of Moldova, is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe, with an area of and population of 2.42 million. Moldova is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. ...

. It is Moldova's only port accessible to seagoing vessels, situated at km 133 (nautical mile 72) of the River Danube in the south of Moldova. It operates both a grain and an oil terminal as well as a passenger terminal. The building of an oil terminal started in 1996 and it was launched on 26 October 2006. Giurgiulești passenger port was officially opened on 17 March 2009, when the first sea passenger trip Giurgiulești-

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

-Giurgiulești was launched. The Grain Transhipment Terminal was opened on 24 July 2009. A container facility was added in 2012. As of 2015, a second grain terminal was under construction. The port has only on the shore of the river with room remaining for one additional terminal. Volume shipped through the port increased 65% in 2014. The port is managed by a Dutch firm, Danube Logistics, which, with the aid of the

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, shortened to EBRD ( French: ''Banque européenne pour la reconstruction et le développement'' or ''BERD''), is an international financial institution founded in 1991 in Paris. As a multilat ...

, has invested $60 million in the project. There are 460 employees, half from the village of Giurgiulești, which is inland. As of 2015, there were no facilities in Giurgiulești which catered to travelers or visiting crewmen. It has a status of

free economic zone A free-trade zone (FTZ) is a class of special economic zone. It is a geographic area where goods may be imported, stored, handled, manufactured, or reconfigured and re- exported under specific customs regulation and generally not subjec ...

until 2030. The Port of Giurgiulești was built as result of a 2005 territorial exchange with

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

, where

received a 430 meter (470 yard) bank of the

Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...

river (which is an international waterway).) Ukraine was supposed to receive a short section of road that leaves and re-enters Ukrainian territory near the Moldovan village of Palanca at the easternmost point of Moldova. After a long territorial dispute, it was decided that Moldova would keep the land but the road itself would be owned and maintained by Ukrainians. So now all vehicles have to go through the checkpoint while driving from Ukraine to Ukraine.

References

External links

Giurgiulești International Free Port homepage
Transport infrastructure in Moldova Giurgiulesti 2006 establishments in Moldova {{Moldova-stub