The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has acquired a 25% stake in gas transmission company Vestmoldtransgaz, which operates the newly built Ungheni-Chisinau gas transmission pipeline, according to an EBRD statement.

The EBRD has invested 20 million euros as part of Vestmoldtransgaz’s capital increase.

Established in 2014, Vestmoldtransgaz owns and manages the gas pipeline network in western Moldova and provides natural gas transmission services. In 2018, it was taken over by Eurotransgaz srl, a subsidiary of SNTGN Transgaz, the company that operates the Romanian natural gas transmission system, according to Agerpres.

The 120 km long Ungheni-Chisinau gas transmission pipeline will soon become operational and complete the interconnection of gas transmission systems in Romania and Moldova by connecting Chisinau to the Iasi-Ungheni interconnection pipeline between the eastern city of Romania, Iasi and Ungheni, a city in the Republic of Moldova, on the border with Romania.

The Ungheni-Chisinau gas pipeline will allow Moldova – a country that is 90 percent dependent on energy imports – to diversify its energy sources, the statement said.