Ukraine and Romania plan to open the Bila Tserkva-Sighetu Marmatiei border crossing point by the end of this year – Sighetu Marmatiei“ border crossing point on temporary infrastructure for passenger cars while the ”full” infrastructure is being built, according to the Deputy Minister of Community and Territorial Development of Ukraine Serhiy Derkach following a meeting with the State Secretary of the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure of Romania Ionel Scristea.
“The construction of the new Bila Tserkva-Sighetu Marmatiei checkpoint is a priority. The contract for the work has been signed. The construction itself will be divided into three stages. This is a large infrastructure project that requires time and resources,” Derkach said on his Facebook page.
Among other key agreements, he mentioned the synchronization of work at the largest checkpoint with Romania, Porubne-Siret, in order to simultaneously complete the development of lanes for trucks. This will double the throughput capacity, the deputy minister stressed.
According to him, the opening of local checkpoints, in particular one each in the Chernivtsi and Zakarpattia regions, was also discussed. It is noted that these checkpoints will be created for passenger cars and pedestrians.
Among the latest joint developments, Derkach recalled the possibility of large-capacity buses freely traveling through the Dyakovtsi-Rakovets checkpoint.
“The next step is to consolidate this decision without restrictions on an indefinite basis. Plus, add the possibility of crossing with empty trucks. Our Romanian colleagues are considering this possibility and will provide feedback,” the deputy minister said.
In January-June 2024, Ukraine imported 211,692 thousand tons of salt, which is 45.88% less than in the same period a year earlier, when external purchases amounted to 391,186 thousand tons.
According to statistics released by the State Customs Service (SRS), spending on salt purchases on foreign markets in the first half of 2025 decreased by 48.46% to $26.919 million, compared to $52.225 million in the same period of 2024.
The main suppliers of salt to Ukraine in January-June were Egypt, which accounted for 46.09% of supplies, worth $12.407 million, Turkey (17.57% and $4.730 million) and Romania (13.41% and $3.611 million)..
A year earlier, the top three salt suppliers were the same: Egypt (54.89% or $28.668 million), Turkey (17.15% or $8.956 million) and Romania (14.69% or $7.671 million).
As reported, Ukraine exported 710,040 tons of salt worth $28.32 million in pre-war 2021, while in 2022, exports fell fivefold in real terms to 142,038 tons, and revenues fell even more sharply to $3.82 million. The main buyers of Ukrainian salt in 2021 were Poland (39.1%), Hungary (27.4%), and Romania (7.3%). In 2021, Ukraine imported 142,810 tons of salt worth $12.92 million.
After the occupation by Russian troops in April 2022 of the country’s largest salt producer, Artemsol, Ukraine virtually stopped its exports and became a net importer.
The Tereblya salt deposit (Zakarpattia region) resumed salt production in August 2023. The head of the Zakarpattia Regional State Administration, Viktor Mykyta, said that Zakarpattia would be able to provide Ukraine with 100% of its technical and table salt.
The Dolinsky deposit (Ivano-Frankivsk region) plans to resume salt production in the near future. Work is currently underway on the Dolinsky deposit development project, and a thorough environmental impact assessment is being conducted. Specialists from the State Scientific Research and Design Institute of Basic Chemistry “Niochim” are preparing a design solution for a future salt production plant. A special permit for the extraction of rock salt (halite) in 2023 was obtained by the Kharkiv-based company “Planeta Komfort.”
Ukrainian company Avtomagistral-Pivden will participate for the first time in a large-scale construction project for new infrastructure in the EU, namely 33.7 km of the Oradea-Arad expressway, with a contract value of EUR460 million, the company’s press service told Interfax-Ukraine. According to the report, the contract was signed on May 15 in Bucharest by Cristian Pistol, director of Romania’s National Road Infrastructure Management Company, Veniamin Rus, head of the Precon Transilvania SLR association (Romania), and Nikolai Timofeev, CEO of Avtomagistral-Pivden.
Romanian Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Sorin Grindeanu, who attended the signing ceremony, said that his country’s government welcomes the cooperation between the local contractor and the foreign company.
For his part, Cristian Pistol noted that the new Oradea-Arad expressway is part of the strategic European corridor Via Carpathia, which will provide road links between the Baltic, Black and Mediterranean seas.
“The signing of the contract is truly a historic event. This is the first time a Ukrainian company has participated in a large-scale project to build new infrastructure in EU countries. Ukraine will supply the European market not with raw materials or cheap labor, but with high-tech services, the foreign exchange earnings from which will compensate for the losses of traditional Ukrainian raw material exports,” said Nikolai Timofeev.
According to him, Avtomagistral-Pivden’s victory also opens up opportunities for other Ukrainian companies that supply construction materials or offer services in the construction sector: the contract will have a significant multiplier effect, boosting demand for Ukrainian products. Avtomagistral-Pivden’s entry into the market for new EU projects will also strengthen economic integration and economic cooperation between Ukraine and Romania as a whole, and will promote the exchange of technologies and experience and the implementation of joint investment projects.
Timofeev emphasized that the prerequisite for winning the tender was Avtomagistral-Pivden’s successful implementation of large-scale projects in Moldova and several initial projects in Romania (repair of a highway in Transylvania and reconstruction of the Satu Mare airport).
“The company has proven itself to be a reliable partner. It has proven its ability to work according to international standards, fulfill its obligations, and ensure high quality and timely completion of contracts,” he said.
As reported, the Oradea-Arad expressway construction project (120.5 km) consists of several sections, for each of which the customer is holding a separate tender. In February 2025, Avtomagistral-Pivden and its partners won the tender for lot No. 1 (33.7 km). This is currently the first contract signed for the construction of Oradea-Arad. Under the terms of the contract, worth a total of EUR 460 million, it must be completed within 24 months.
The first section of the project includes the construction of 32 bridges, interchanges, and overpasses, including a 727-meter overpass over the railway, as well as two parking lots for charging electric vehicles.
Last year, Avtomagistral-Pivden opened an office in Romania, where preparations for the start of work are already underway. At the same time, the company continues to compete for other contracts in the Romanian market.
Avtomagistral-Pivden LLC has been operating since 2004. It designs and builds expressways, bridges, interchanges, airfield complexes, and hydraulic structures. According to Opendatabot, the owner of the company is Alexander Boiko. According to the financial results for 2024, the company’s net profit amounted to UAH 1.363 billion, and its revenue was UAH 13.197 billion.
Ukrainian company Avtomagistral-Pivden will participate for the first time in a large-scale construction project for new infrastructure in the EU, namely 33.7 km of the Oradea-Arad expressway, with a contract value of EUR460 million, the company’s press service told Interfax-Ukraine. According to the report, the contract was signed on May 15 in Bucharest by Cristian Pistol, director of Romania’s National Road Infrastructure Management Company, Veniamin Rus, head of the Precon Transilvania SLR association (Romania), and Nikolai Timofeev, CEO of Avtomagistral-Pivden.
Romanian Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Sorin Grindeanu, who attended the signing ceremony, said that his country’s government welcomes the cooperation between the local contractor and the foreign company.
For his part, Cristian Pistol noted that the new Oradea-Arad expressway is part of the strategic European corridor Via Carpathia, which will provide road links between the Baltic, Black and Mediterranean seas.
“The signing of the contract is truly a historic event. This is the first time a Ukrainian company has participated in a large-scale project to build new infrastructure in EU countries. Ukraine will supply the European market not with raw materials or cheap labor, but with high-tech services, the foreign exchange earnings from which will compensate for the losses of traditional Ukrainian raw material exports,” said Nikolai Timofeev.
According to him, Avtomagistral-Pivden’s victory also opens up opportunities for other Ukrainian companies that supply construction materials or offer services in the construction sector: the contract will have a significant multiplier effect, boosting demand for Ukrainian products. Avtomagistral-Pivden’s entry into the market for new EU projects will also strengthen economic integration and economic cooperation between Ukraine and Romania as a whole, and will promote the exchange of technologies and experience and the implementation of joint investment projects.
Timofeev emphasized that the prerequisite for winning the tender was Avtomagistral-Pivden’s successful implementation of large-scale projects in Moldova and several initial projects in Romania (repair of a highway in Transylvania and reconstruction of the Satu Mare airport).
“The company has proven itself to be a reliable partner. It has proven its ability to work according to international standards, fulfill its obligations, and ensure high quality and timely completion of contracts,” he said.
As reported, the Oradea-Arad expressway construction project (120.5 km) consists of several sections, for each of which the customer is holding a separate tender. In February 2025, Avtomagistral-Pivden and its partners won the tender for lot No. 1 (33.7 km). This is currently the first contract signed for the construction of Oradea-Arad. Under the terms of the contract, worth a total of EUR 460 million, it must be completed within 24 months.
The first section of the project includes the construction of 32 bridges, interchanges, and overpasses, including a 727-meter overpass over the railway, as well as two parking lots for charging electric vehicles.
Last year, Avtomagistral-Pivden opened an office in Romania, where preparations for the start of work are already underway. At the same time, the company continues to compete for other contracts in the Romanian market.
Avtomagistral-Pivden LLC has been operating since 2004. It designs and builds expressways, bridges, interchanges, airfield complexes, and hydraulic structures. According to Opendatabot, the owner of the company is Alexander Boiko. According to the financial results for 2024, the company’s net profit amounted to UAH 1.363 billion, and its revenue was UAH 13.197 billion.
Experts Club Information and Analytical Center has analyzed the inflation rate and its trends in Romania in recent years. Inflation in Romania in 2025 continues to show a moderate decline, while remaining above the National Bank’s target level. According to the National Institute of Statistics, in March 2025, annual inflation amounted to 4.86%, down from 5.02% in February.
Main components of inflation in March 2025.
Food products: price increase by 5.10%
Non-food products: increase by 3.84%
Services: up 6.99%
The greatest pressure on the overall price level is exerted by services, especially health care, education and utilities.
Historical inflation dynamics
To understand current trends, let’s look at the inflation rate in Romania in recent years.
2021: 5.05%
2022: 13.80%
2023: 10.40%
2024: 5.60%
These data show a significant increase in inflation in 2022, driven by global economic turmoil, and a gradual decline thereafter.
According to the European Commission’s forecasts, inflation in Romania is expected to continue to decline, reaching 3.4% by the end of 2025. However, risks related to fiscal policy and possible changes in tax legislation remain.
Romania’s central bank is taking a cautious approach, aiming to reduce inflation without damaging economic growth. With upcoming elections and increased public spending, the scope for further interest rate cuts is limited.
One of the largest grain market operators in Ukraine, Nibulon JV LLC, is entering new markets in the Middle and Upper Danube, expanding its operations in the region and offering a full cycle of grain and metal exports, as well as cargo transportation of all types of goods via the Danube, the grain trader’s press service reported on Facebook.
The agricultural holding reminded that the first steps in the Middle and Upper Danube markets were voyages with metal products on the routes Izmail – Lom (Bulgaria) and Izmail – Smederevo (Serbia), which were carried out by the tugs Pereyaslavsky and Kozatsky using barges of its own production. These shipments confirmed the company’s readiness to work efficiently with various categories of cargo, opening up new business opportunities in Bulgaria, Serbia, Romania and other countries in the Danube region.
“Our fleet is capable of transporting various types of cargo, and this is just the beginning. We offer comprehensive solutions to the Balkan business: grain exports combined with our logistics on the Danube to Constanta, as well as river transportation of any goods between the ports of the region,” said Sergey Kalkutin, Nibulon’s Logistics Director.
Nibulon assured that expansion to the Middle and Upper Danube is part of the agricultural holding’s long-term strategy aimed at developing international river logistics.
Currently, the agricultural holding is ready to offer a competitive alternative to traditional ways of supplying grain and other cargoes. This includes grain exports to 75 countries using its own river fleet, cargo transportation on the Danube for the agricultural, metallurgical and construction sectors, and flexible terms of cooperation: DAP, EXW, FCA, FOB, real-time online cargo tracking, international experience and reputation as a reliable partner.
“Thanks to its own modern fleet and efficient logistics, Nibulon guarantees stable and safe transportation on the Danube, which opens up access to new markets,” the agricultural holding emphasized.
Nibulon JV LLC was established in 1991. Prior to the Russian military invasion, the grain trader owned 27 transshipment terminals and crop reception complexes, facilities for simultaneous storage of 2.25 million tons of agricultural products, a fleet of 83 vessels (including 23 tugs), and the Mykolaiv Shipyard.
“Before the war, Nibulon cultivated 82 thousand hectares of land in 12 regions of Ukraine and exported agricultural products to more than 70 countries. In 2021, the grain trader exported the highest ever 5.64 million tons of agricultural products, reaching record volumes of supplies to foreign markets in August – 0.7 million tons, in the fourth quarter – 1.88 million tons, and in the second half of the year – 3.71 million tons.
Currently, the grain trader is operating at 32% of capacity, has set up a special unit to clear agricultural land of mines and had to move its headquarters from Mykolaiv to Kyiv.
BULGARIA, CARGO TRANSPORTATION, Danube, NIBULON, ROMANIA, SERBIA
