The EU High Level Adviser on Customs and Tax Policy, Rosario De Blasio, took part at the VII Moldo-Italian Economic Forum, held on 5 March. He dedicated his presentation to the Inland Freight Terminal. According to him, ‘in order to relieve pressure on border crossing points and reduce traffic congestion and overcrowding, a possible solution is the construction of a new Inland Freight Terminal (IFT) close to the capital city of Chisinau (which covers 80% of all import-export operations of the Republic), i.e. nearby consumption and production centres, interconnecting motorways, airport and railways.’
IFTs are common user facilities, where customs clearance and other freight services are provided: import/export/re-export/transit operations, loading/unloading operations, temporary storage, warehousing, transhipment of bulk cargo and containers, all under customs surveillance. Their design also encompasses security features such as an intelligence centre and surveillance systems proving to be a valuable anti-corruption measure as well as a tool for better management of border and inland traffic.
According to the High-Leve Adviser, IFT will aim to improve and secure supply chains to the national market, but also towards West and Est, and speed up the flow of people and freight trucks through BCPs at Romanian and Ukrainian borders.
