Public authorities in Romania need to come up with good infrastructure projects, as they have been weak so far, European Investment Bank (EIB) president Werner Hoyer said at the end of last week, reports local Ziarul Financiar.

Romania lacks the capacity to design and implement solid projects, he added.

“It’s about feasibility and technical studies,” according to Hoyer.

“If public authorities in Romania are really interested in getting financing for big projects, it’s enough to give me a phone call. We finance all the good projects. We have not funded major infrastructure projects in Romania because the projects were weak,” the EIB president said.

EIB should have been involved with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the World Bank in financing the Comarnic-Brasov highway in 2013, but the financial agreement fell through. The reasons were not clear.

Romania often has problems with acquisition projects, EIB operations director Luca Lazzaroli said. Unlike countries like Austria or Italy, Romania hasn’t managed so far to find financing from EIB for large infrastructure projects such as highways or a high-speed rail.

editor@romania-insider.com