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Weekly Lists
March 15, 2019 www.intellinews.com I Page 27
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Infrastructure
Turkmenistan bets on Black Sea-Caspian Sea International Transport Corridor
Stock of logistics space in Romania reaches 3.8mn sqm in 2018
Turkmenistan, Romania, Azerbaijan and Georgia have established the Black Sea-Caspian Sea (BSCS) International Transport Cor- ridor. The new trade route stretches from Turkmenistan's Caspian Sea port at Turkmenbashi to Constanta on Romania's Black Sea coast, RFE/RL reported on March 11.
The BSCS is a trade route that technically already exists, but it will require sufficient infrastructure development to reach its poten- tial, the report noted. The BSCS serves to link Turkmenistan to the European Union via Romania – under the current torrid economic conditions faced by the Central Asian nation, European markets would be a welcome opportunity for it. The Turkmen presently rely on China to take the majority of their exports. The route could help boost the activities of the port at Turkmenbashi, recently renovated and remodelled for as much as $1.5bn, according to estimates.
The stock of modern logistics and industrial spaces reached 3.8mn square metres (sqm) in Romania last year, CBRE Romania real es- tate consultancy said. Out of the total stock, 81% represents class A buildings, while 70% are properties close to big cities, the retail segment being the main driver for this market.
For 2018, CBRE expects the segment of logistic and industrial sector to register the highest increase in the past years.
The volume of construction works in Romania decreased for the third year in a row, posting a negative 4.1% y/y performance in 2018. The market thus shrank by 13.5% in the past three years. Com- pared to the peak level reached in 2008, before the recession, the volume of construction works was 32% lower in 2018.
Albania, Bulgaria and North Macedonia have signed a memoran- dum of understanding (MoU) on integrating the countries’ electric- ity markets, North Macedonia’s power system operator MEPSO said on March 8.
The move is expected to contribute to better opportunities for market participants and to improve security of power supply in the region.
“Development and strengthening of the regional cooperation between power system operators and creating conditions for a regional electricity market and its integration into the single European market, are key points of the MoU,” MEPSO said in the statement.
Albania, Bulgaria and North Macedonia sign MoU on integration of electricity markets