The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development became the last manager of the asset from 2021. It is even difficult to determine in what specific capacity it acted, as the Bank bought out not the port itself, but the shares of the Dutch company – the previous owner and operator. It also bought out the shares of the Dutch company – the previous owner and operator – according to a rather vague and unclear scheme, but let’s not focus on it. The EBRD has been involved in the fate of GIFP from the very beginning, lending to its owners and acting as a minority shareholder for some time.
When the EBRD became the “ultimate beneficiary” in 2021, many people perceived it as a step towards normalization of the situation around the Giurgiulesti port. After all, it had previously been taken over by a Dutch company under very scandalous circumstances. And since 2013, when it happened, the litigation on this issue has not stopped (Logos Press has covered the situation many times).
The EBRD has kept its word that it is not going to deal with the port as a business, but only to find a solid investor for this asset. The international tender was announced on April 14, 2025. Eight companies applied for it, but among the most likely contenders were the Turkish YILDIRIM Group and the Romanian state company Administration of Sea Ports of Constanta JSC.
The scandals started long before that. The highest officials of Moldova repeatedly openly lobbied the interests of the Romanian company. A representative of YILDIRIM Group even had to publicly appeal to the Moldovan authorities for correctness, separately addressing the Speaker of Parliament Igor Gross.
It didn’t help. The EBRD has not yet announced the winner of the tender, and the Moldovan state has already decided everything. On July 11, the Council for consideration of investments important for state security approved the investment of 24 million euros for “Constanta” JSC. Only after that there were reports (so far unofficial) that the tender was finalized and the Romanian company would pay 62 million euros for the asset itself.
In principle, there is nothing objectionable in the very victory of the port of Constanta. Moreover, a high-ranking manager who knows the situation well from inside believes that this is the best and quite reasonable choice. The port in Giurgiulesti initially worked through the port of Constanta to access maritime transportation.
The only question is how it all happens here in Moldova…..
We have already mentioned that at the tender stage and even before its announcement, the Moldovan authorities openly disregarded the principles of impartiality and loyal competition. This was also reflected in the selection of the winner of the tender. In any case, this is indicated by the reaction of Natalia Madjar, YILDIRIM Group’s representative in Moldova.
“EBRD (EBRD) has finalized the process for the sale of Giurgiulesti port. Congratulations to the winner – the Administration of Sea Ports of Constanta S.A., Romania. I have been thinking for a long time whether I should talk about it publicly. But I feel I have to. I am obliged as a citizen of the Republic of Moldova, as a professional, as a person who has invested everything in this project. So that everyone, whether citizen, journalist or expert, could see the picture unvarnished,” she wrote in social networks.
And listed the points that everyone should know about.
- Our price bid was the highest. These figures are confidential.
- We offered an investment of €50 million – double what the winner offered (€24 million). These figures are already public.
- We came not only with money – we came with a vision, with a clear strategy for long-term development, including the deepening of the port as a basis for its international competitiveness.
- Our competitors offered only cosmetic modernization, and that on the infrastructure that had been renewed earlier at the expense of the bank itself.
“Yes, legally the port belonged to EBRD, and the tender was conducted by the bank. But the final decision was made by the Moldovan government. And here it is important to emphasize: the Bank recommended us as a strategic, reliable investor.
But the state had the final say. And it was not in our favor,” says the representative of YILDIRIM Group.
And then he gives some data showing the scale of the Turkish applicant for the port in Giurgiulesti:
– we are a global industrial and logistics group present in 56 countries on 5 continents;
– we have 250 subsidiaries, one of which is CoreX, which participated in the tender;
– 25 seaports;
– 7 dry terminals;
– we are among the top 10 port operators in the world.
Natalia Madjar concludes her post with a rather emotional message: “As a citizen of the Republic of Moldova, I do not hide my disappointment. Disappointment that at a critical moment the state has again made a choice not in favor of the future, but in favor of a convenient past. A choice in favor of dependence rather than strength. In favor of external interest over internal development. We are here to build. For a long time. And seriously. It was a chance for Moldova – historical, rare, almost impossible. In the history of the country, a player of this level had never come in. And probably… will NEVER come in.
Emotional assessments are not always objective. Although everyone who is more or less familiar with the situation realizes that the scale of YILDIRIM Group and JSC “Constanta”, as they say in the port city close to us, are two big differences.
But this is not even the point. The results of the tender have not been announced yet, and a new scandal is breaking out around the port in Giurgiulesti.
Part of the shareholders of the JSC “Administration of Constanta Sea Ports” (APM) opposed the acquisition of the International Free Port of Giurgiulesti. The company Fondul Proprietatea (FP), which owns 20% of the shares of JSC “Constanta”, has applied to the Romanian courts with a request to cancel the decision of the annual general meeting of shareholders of APM from June 19, which approved a binding proposal for the acquisition of the operator of the port of Giurgiulesti. The lawsuit is pending and the date of the first court hearing has not yet been set. (read more here: https://logos-pres.md/en/news/shareholders-of-constanta-port-against-the-purchase-of-giurgiulesti-port/ )
It is hard to say how these court proceedings will end. One thing is clear: they may continue to be a bone of contention between the shareholders of Constanta JSC, which will hinder effective investment and development of the Giurgiulesti port.
Meanwhile, we will live with hopes that sooner or later the scandals around the “sea gate of Moldova” will end. And they will justify the expectations that were once placed on them.
