Investments in transport

Romanian minister for investment and European projects Dan Vîlceanu had talks in Brussels with European transport commissioner Adina Vălean.

Mihai Pelin, 24.02.2022, 13:50

The reforms and
investments laid down in Romania’s national recovery and resilience plan and
the 2021-2027 cohesion policy in the field of transport were analysed on
Wednesday in Brussels by the Romanian minister for investment and European
projects Dan Vîlceanu and European transport commissioner Adina Vălean.

Talks focused on
the railway strategy, the strategy for road safety and the stage of public
procurement procedures for the main investments in the field of transports. With
respect to the former, the Romanian minister said the implementation of the investment
plan and the action plan in the field would be monitored, and that the Romanian
authorities were counting on the support of the operative group of the Directorate-General
for Mobility and Transport. He underlined that it was essential for the
Romanian authorities to have a clear overall picture and a clear roadmap of
actions in the field, which is why they are also waiting for an opinion from
their European partners. As for the public procurement with respect to the main
investments in the field of EU funded transports, Dan Vîlceanu said most
tenders were already launched.

The proposed
allocation for Romania under the 2021-2027 cohesion policy’s Operational Programme
Transport is some 4.4 billion euros, out of the 373 billion euros for all
member states. Romanian transport is also to receive 7.6 billion euros under
the national recovery and resilience plan. The programme allows for
advantageous loans to fund large-scale projects, such as building hundreds of km
of motorway, linking tens of thousands of homes to water and sewerage networks,
facilities for the digitalisation of thousands of SMEs and the reforestation of
tens of thousands of hectares of land, said minister Vîlceanu.

Last autumn, the
European Commission approved Romania’s national recovery and resilience plan
worth over 29 billion euros divided almost equally between grants and loans. The
money is paid out in tranches, depending on the fulfilment of certain
objectives. There are some 500 such objectives that have to be met by 31st
August 2026. The national recovery and resilience plan is based on the six
pillars provided for under the Recovery and Resilience Mechanism and is divided
into 15 components so that it covers Romania’s needs and at same time follows
the priorities of the European Commission. The six pillars are: green transition,
digital transformation, intelligent growth, social and territorial cohesion, health
and economic, social and institutional resilience and policies for the next generation,
children and youth. (CM)