The Ministry of Development, Public Works and Administration (MDLPA) is providing a total of 5.6 billion lei in funding for seismic safety, Minister Cseke Attila announced on Wednesday.
„We currently have 418 financing contracts for building consolidation investments underway under the ministry’s funding programmes. The implementation of these projects rests with local authorities,” the minister said in a press release marking 49 years since the 4 March 1977 earthquake.
He underlined the importance of seismic safety: „The impact of a potential major earthquake would affect not only buildings but also the population and the national economy. As early as 2022-2023 we created the necessary legal framework and investment programmes for this purpose, but it is the responsibility of local authorities to submit the required documentation for projects that can be financed, given that the funds are provided 100% from the state budget, without co financing from local authorities or citizens, and these funds are non repayable. So far, we are providing financing for the seismic strengthening of 201 schools, nurseries, kindergartens, high schools, universities and other education facilities, seven buildings in the healthcare system, 177 public buildings and 33 residential blocks. We must strengthen as many of these buildings as possible each year, including in Bucharest.”
Cseke Attila said that so far only 17 contracts for residential blocks, five for public buildings and three for schools have been signed in Bucharest.
Funding applications can be submitted on a permanent basis, ensuring access for all beneficiaries. To accelerate consolidation works for buildings in the education and health systems, the procedure for implementing investments has been simplified, the MDLPA statement added.
The Ministry of Development has also launched the first interactive map of administrative territorial units exposed to seismic risk that can apply for funding for building consolidation: https://www.mdlpa.ro/subarticles/8/hartariscseismic.
It has also introduced a digital application for the rapid visual assessment of buildings, enabling local and central authorities to inventory the building stock, rank structures by seismic vulnerability and prioritise safety investments in order to access dedicated consolidation funding programmes, the statement said. So far, 4,610 buildings have been inventoried through the platform.
In addition, the EVR Inspector mobile application has been launched as a complementary tool to the web platform, designed to help inspectors centralise building information directly in the field while allowing managers and supervisors to view the data in real time.
AGERPRES
