A service area for vehicles is being built before the Reni – Giurgiulești border crossing

The Ministry for Communities and Territories Development of Ukraine, together with the State Agency for Restoration and Infrastructure Development, continues to modernise border infrastructure in the south of Odesa region. One of the key projects is the creation of a service area on the M-15 Odesa – Reni highway, near the Reni – Giurgiulești border crossing on the border with the Republic of Moldova.

The project provides for the construction of a model service area covering 1.7 hectares, designed for both freight and passenger vehicles.

According to the Ministry for Communities and Territories Development of Ukraine, the base of the road surface has already been formed and the frames of the buildings have been installed. Work is currently underway to arrange engineering networks, sanitary infrastructure and landscaping of the territory.

Deputy Minister for Communities and Territories Development of Ukraine Serhii Derkach noted that in 2026 the state continues a large-scale modernisation of border infrastructure and plans to open six more service areas. These facilities are expected to provide proper conditions for drivers and help organise traffic before the state border.

The project is being implemented under the European Union’s Connecting Europe Facility — CEF programme. Financing is provided on a parity basis: 50% is covered by an EU grant, while the remaining 50% comes from the State Budget of Ukraine.

Comment by the Institute of Danube Research

For the south of Odesa region, this project has not only a service function but also strategic importance. The Reni – Giurgiulești border crossing is located in a zone of direct transport interaction between Ukraine, Moldova and Romania, while the M-15 Odesa – Reni highway is one of the key arteries providing access to Ukrainian Danube ports, international logistics routes and corridors leading to the European Union.

The creation of the service area will help partially address the problem of uncontrolled vehicle accumulation before the border, improve sanitary and basic living conditions for drivers, and increase the predictability of freight movement toward Moldova, Romania and the Danube ports.

According to Vitaliy Barvinenko, Director of the Institute of Danube Research, Doctor of Law and Professor, the modernisation of border infrastructure near Reni is an important element in strengthening the logistical resilience of the Ukrainian Danube region.

“The service area before the Reni – Giurgiulești border crossing is not a secondary infrastructure facility, but part of a broader policy of integrating southern Ukraine into the European transport space. For the Danube region, it is critically important that border crossings function not only as control points, but also as organised logistics nodes with proper conditions for carriers, drivers and businesses,” Vitaliy Barvinenko noted.

According to him, the development of service infrastructure on the M-15 highway should be considered in connection with the operation of the ports of Reni and Izmail, cross-border cooperation with Moldova and Romania, and the prospects for integrating the Ukrainian Danube region into European transport and investment routes.

“Each such facility improves not only comfort, but also the manageability of transport flows. In the current circumstances, this is a matter of economic security, export capacity and regional competitiveness. The Ukrainian Danube region needs precisely such practical solutions that combine state infrastructure policy, EU support and the real needs of border communities,” the Director of IDR emphasised.

The construction of the service area before the Reni – Giurgiulești border crossing is part of a gradual transition from situational responses to border queues toward systematic transport flow management. For the Ukrainian Danube region, this means improving the quality of border infrastructure, strengthening the role of the M-15 highway and reinforcing Ukraine’s logistical connection with Moldova, Romania and the wider European space.