Danube bridge best benefits Valea Jiului

(story to be published in tomorrow’s issue, March 28)

Romania hopes to receive the necessary funds to start works for three infrastructure projects linked to the new bridge over the Danube on the occasion of the Conference of Donors within the Stability Pact for Southeastern Europe, which is to start tomorrow in Brussels. The three projects linked to the bridge of Vidin-Calafat are the highway Nadlac-Deva, the rehabilitation of roads of Valea Jiului and the rehabilitation of the railway on the segment Petrosani-Tg. Jiu. Premier Mugur Isarescu and his Bulgarian counterpart Ivan Kostov yesterday were to sign in Bucharest in the presence of the coordinator of the Stability Pact for the Balkans, Bodo Hombach, the statement related to the building up of the second bridge over the Danube. Hombach stated that the financing of the bridge over the Danube is secured and the identification of sums for projects within the European corridor 4 (Berlin-Athens-Istanbul), implicitly for the access ways to the bridge on the territory of Romania, will be the object of the Conference of Brussels. Resources to be allocated to Romania cannot be calculated yet because the list of projects is still open, Hombach added. There is however an emergency package comprising projects within the area that are to be kicked off during the next 12 months and these are valued at approximately 1.5 billion euros of which about 20 percent are to be allocated to Romania. At the end of last week, Hombach visited Romanian areas where roads and railways are to be built up that will make a link with the second bridge over the Danube, so as to evaluate the situation of the respective regions. Romanian Transports minister Traian Basescu stated that the modernisation of the highway section that links Petrosani with Tg. Jiu is to be held as a priority and will lead to the employment of at least 2,000 persons within works, while other jobs are to be created in related sectors. Basescu hopes that after the reunion of March 29-30 in Brussels Romania could get the necessary funds, after which works may be kick-started immediately. Referring to political conditions Romania will have to meet to get the funding for projects within the pact, Hombach avoided giving a direct answer. “There are always various interests that must be carefully weighed. Bulgarian projects are interesting, but the projects proposed by Romania for Valea Jiului are more interesting, because jobs will be created, too,” Bodo Hombach was quoted as saying by Mediafax news agency. The Stability Pact for Southeastern Europe also has in view reinstating traffic on the Danube by this summer.