Transport Minister says construction of Comarnic - Brasov motorway with state budget funding perfectly possible

The Romanian government will be able to build the Comarnic - Brasov motorway with money from the state budget, which won't be considerably impacted, as payments will be made progressively, as the works advance, Transport Minister Razvan Cuc told a press conference on Tuesday. Premier Viorica Dancila had announced on Sunday that she will ask the Supreme Council for National Defence (CSAT) to declare this motorway segment a project of national importance, in order to speed up works. "The Prime Minister's decision was a very good one. I was here back in 2017, when we signed the design and execution contract for the Rasnov - Cristian motorway lot. At that time I wanted to put this project - which was collecting dust in the company's drawers without being awarded - on an irreversible track. I requested a very clear analysis and there we are, the project is in the works now. Also at that time I wanted to launch the project for this motorway stretch with money from the state budget," Cuc said. According to the Transport Minister, this is the only and fastest option to have the project completed. "We must find a courageous arrangement to carry out this project, and I believe this is also a matter of taking responsibility. We must also find the legal form to do it, but anyway, the Prime Minister's decision was more than welcome. I am convinced that entering this project for financing from the state budget will maximize its chances to be completed in the next period. The impact on the budget is not too high, because disbursements will be made progressively, as the execution advances," said the government official, who added that works on the Comarnic and Busteni beltways will also be resumed under these conditions. Two days ago, Premier Viorica Dancila said that in order to speed up the start of the works, plans to have the Comarnic - Brasov motorway built under a public-private partnership will be dropped and that the project will be declared of national importance at the next CSAT meeting. "The Comarnic - Brasov motorway is a public-private partnership project, we received a request from a Chinese-Turkish company, but together with my colleagues I decided to remove it from this arrangement so that the motorway be declared of national importance, or critical infrastructure at the next CSAT meeting, so that we are able to start works on this motorway as soon as possible. As you know, bureaucracy is cumbersome, the procedures are complicated, there is this already settled practice in Romania of having [the awards] challenged, and in order to overcome all these obstacles I believe that the solution is for this motorway to become of national importance, so that we can start construction as soon as possible, with government funding," Dancila said. Answering a question as to when the construction of the motorway could start, the Premier said that she will make an evaluation after the vote in the CSAT meeting. AGERPRES (RO - author: Florentina Cernat, editor: Mariana Nica; EN - author: Simona Klodnischi, editor: Simona Iacob)