Japan To Fund Romanian Port Study

Japan's International Cooperation Agency (JICA) will finance a study to rehabilitate and upgrade the Black Sea port of Constanta, Transport Ministry officials said. The study will assess existing port facilities, predict harbor traffic patterns for the next 20 years, diagnose the port's IT system, and assess the impact of port activity on the environment.

Constanta can handle around 85 million tons of goods per year, port officials said, adding that approximately 40 million tons were handled last year.

Analysts believe Constanta could act as a hub for goods coming from North Africa, the Far East and the Middle East and consigned to central and eastern European markets.