Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu on Wednesday said that, at this moment, 518 kilometres of highway and expressway are actually under construction, and the remaining – up to 781 kilometres – are at a tender or design stage, adding that not as many investors as the country would like will come here unless infrastructure investments continue.

Ciolacu on Wednesday was on a working visit, together with Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Sorin Grindeanu, to check the stage of the works on the A7 Motorway, Ploiesti – Buzau section, Dumbrava Junction, Prahova County.

„It is the connection between the A3 Motorway and the Moldovan Motorway, both are on schedule to be completed by the end of 2024. Romanian companies, joint companies, anyway, from my point of view, are an example of work. There are almost 781 kilometres of motorways and expressways under construction – 518, it seems, are actually under construction – with the difference of about 263 being at a tender or design stage. 363 are up for auction, and about 234.67, as far as I remember, of national roads under construction at the moment. That is the magnitude of the works in the large infrastructure in Romania,” said Ciolacu.

He underlined the importance of infrastructure both for attracting new investment and in terms of workforce.

„We are talking all day long about company relocations, following the war in Ukraine, in Russia, to other areas of Europe, because Romania has the best energy mix and is not dependent on Russian gas. No one comes unless we invest in infrastructure. Moreover, these investments are in an area of Romania’s development that has been totally forgotten for far too long. And then, if you develop too much in an area, such as the Transylvanian area, where there had been development anyway, there is no longer a workforce. That is why so much workforce, surplus value, went abroad. It is for the first time when this chapter of departures and returns to Romania is positive. From my point of view, it is an indicator that encourages that we have approached things correctly,”

At the same time, he pointed out that 60% of the investment in infrastructure is funded by the government.

„Of course, things are also done on loans, they are also done on deficit and, at the moment, 40% of all the works at the Ministry of Transport are under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) or on European money. The remaining 60% comes from the national budget. To me and the incumbent government of Romania, infrastructure works are a priority, and it is clear that the decision was a correct one, because it multiplies very quickly in the economy, which is why much more money comes to the national budget and there are higher governmental revenues,” said Ciolacu.

AGERPRES