Bucharest, Romania, March 4, 2014—IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is lending 112 million Romanian leu (approximately €29 million) to the municipality of Timisoara to support the development of municipal and social infrastructure, which will improve people’s lives and help local businesses.

IFC’s loan will help Timisoara co-finance projects already supported by the European Union, including improvements to transportation, district heating, urban renewal, and social infrastructure. Support for local small and medium-sized enterprises includes upgrades to municipal IT systems and services.

“By partnering with IFC, we are closer to completing projects that will significantly improve the lives of citizens of Timisoara,” said Nicolae Robu, the Mayor of Timisoara. “We are implementing these projects in partnership with the European Union and some of them are already under construction.”

This is the second IFC loan to support investment in local infrastructure in Romania alongside the European Union. Last year, IFC provided 34 million Romanian leu (approximately €7.6 million) to the municipality of Botosani to improve the energy efficiency of the municipal heating system.

“IFC and the European Union are working together in Romania to support the development of municipal infrastructure,” said Tomasz Telma, IFC Director for Europe and Central Asia. “As a result, Timisoara will benefit from reduced air pollution, increased safety and mobility, and improved social services, while local companies will benefit from improvements in infrastructure and better services offered by the municipality.”
 
Timisoara is the third largest city in Romania and the main social, economic, and cultural center in the western part of the country. The local economy is diversified across various sectors, including: automotive, information and communications technologies, logistics, electrical engineering, chemicals, printing, and textiles.

About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution focused exclusively on the private sector. Working with private enterprises in more than 100 countries, we use our capital, expertise, and influence to help eliminate extreme poverty and promote shared prosperity. In FY13, our investments climbed to an all-time high of nearly $25 billion, leveraging the power of the private sector to create jobs and tackle the world’s most pressing development challenges. For more information, visit www.ifc.org.

Stay Connected
www.facebook.com/IFCwbg
www.twitter.com/IFC_org
www.youtube.com/IFCvideocasts
www.ifc.org/SocialMediaIndex

For information about the Municipality of Timisoara, visit www.primariatm.ro.