The European Commission has recently approved the allotment of 226.6 million euro from the cohesion fund for the retrospective project "The rehabilitation of the Bucharest - Constanta railway, the Bucharest North - Bucharest Baneasa and Fetesti - Constanta sectors," according to an EC release sent to agerpres on Monday.
"The project is part of the Transport Operational Programme for the period 2007-2013, priority axis 'Modernisation and development of the basic TEN-T network aimed at developing a sustainable transport system and integrating it in the EU transport networks.' The rehabilitation works of the over 80 km of railway between Bucharest and Constanta, on the two sectors Bucharest North - Bucharest Baneasa, respectively Fetesti - Constanta, were initially funded by the Romanian state, the total value of the project amounting to almost 475 million euro," the document reads.
According to European Commissioner Corina Cretu, the EC takes over a part of the initial spending which the Romanian state made for the rehabilitation works on the railway between the Capital and Constanta.
"This decision keeps within the line assumed by the European Commission in respect to co-funding retrospective projects, aimed at increasing the absorption of European funds in Romania. Thus, the European Commission takes over part of the initial spending which the Romanian state made on the rehabilitation works on the railway between the Capital and Constanta. Following the joint work of the DG REGIO experts and the national authorities under the working group for a better implementing, retrospective projects in the transport infrastructure in Romania worth approximately 450 million euro were approved from the cohesion fund and the European fund for regional development," Cretu said.
The Bucharest - Constanta railway rehabilitation project was aimed at reducing the travel time between the two cities, as well as turning from a mainly road transport between the Capital and the seaside to a safe and modern transport by train, and reducing the air pollution.
At present the absorption rate under the Transport Operational Programme in the 2007-2013 programming period exceeds 81 percent.
In the 2014-2020 programming period, Romania has allotted approximately 9.4 billion euro for the Large Infrastructure Operational Programme (LIOP), both under the European Fund for Regional Development and through the Cohesion Fund. More that half of the total funding (national co-funding included) for the LIOP - 6.8 billion euro - is provided for the transport infrastructure, 37 percent for the environmental sector development, and 5 percent for the energy sector.
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