Emergency works in Praid
Emergency works have started in Praid, where the local salt mine has been affected by massive floods
Sorin Iordan, 04.06.2025, 14:00
The Romanian government has approved the first financial aid for interventions in the risk area around the Praid Salt Mine, seriously affected by the floods at the end of May. The prefect of Harghita County (center) announced that preparations are being made to divert the Corund stream, whose bed collapsed and led to water infiltrating the salt mine’s gallery system. The contractor assured that the works will be ready at the start of next month. The first state aid scheme adopted by the Bucharest government aims to repair the damages caused by the flood, Minister of Economy, Bogdan Ivan said. The aid will also support the Salrom company, which manages the Praid Salt Mine, as well as the companies that carried out their economic activity here. These are tourist, recreational and treatment activities, provided as services in the sanatorium. The mechanism also includes the full coverage of salaries, until December 31, for the 140 people who work in the salt mine, as well as the almost 200 economic agents who carried out activities specific to the hospitality industry around the mine. Bogdan Ivan: “At present, databases are being analyzed to establish this funding mechanism that cannot exceed €300,000 per company, which the Ministry of Economy, the Ministry of Finance, and the Competition Council are trying to render operational in order to prepare as soon as possible a decree for the launch of this scheme”.
Around €60 million will be allocated from the national budget, €20 million of which will be granted as soon as the state aid scheme is approved, Deputy Prime Minister Tánczos Barna said, adding that the European support mechanism has also been initiated to attract fund made available by the European Commission.
“There are no households affected in Praid at the moment. The affected companies are, basically, Salrom and the companies that operate underground, whose activity has been destroyed due to the floods. Households have not yet been affected, individuals have not been affected. We are now focusing on state aid and compensation on the economic side”.
Experts from Spain, the Netherlands, Germany and Hungary will arrive in Romania today and make recommendations regarding the risk to people and the impact on the environment, given that the salt concentration of the Târnava Mică River, into which the Corund stream flows and which represents the main water supply for almost 40,000 people, is almost twice the standard level. A state of emergency has been declared in several settlements in the region for a period of 30 days, and the population has been advised not to drink water from the public supply network. (VP)
