The World Bank will loan Romania US$180 million (€137.6 million) for road and railways improvements, according to an agreement signed Monday.

The funds will help fulfill "an urgent need to speed up the improvement of infrastructure to raise productivity and sustain growth," the bank said in a statement.

The project's objective is to reduce transport costs through the improvement of national roads and railways networks during the first years of European Union accession, with Romania lagging behind EU states in the transport area.

Romania is to join the EU in January, alongside Bulgaria.