The Minister of Economy, Bogdan Ivan, said on Saturday at Praid, Harghita County, that the best solutions are being sought to reopen the local salt mine, pay the workers there, and compensate the boarding houses and hotels affected.
He added that the situation is complicated, and at a first assessment it takes RON 130 million and about four months to fully divert the course of the Corund stream, which has flooded the salt mine.
"At the first assessment made by my colleagues, it would take Salrom somewhere around RON 130 million to fully divert the course of this stream, to use some very high capacity pumps and suck away the water from the underground and after that to bring it to its initial state and to consolidate the walls of this gallery."
Ivan added that several Romanian and international experts will come to the Praid salt mine on June 3 to start explorations and assess the situation.
"Together with experts of the Babes Bolyai University and other international experts who have shown their solidarity with the Salrom company, on June 3 we will bring together some of the most important European experts here, at Praid, the first explorations will begin, including with underwater drones that will have some very advanced scanning systems including the traceability area and everything that means the salinity of the water today, the way in which the walls are consolidated, and in the upcoming period, after we have these studies, after we remove the water, we will start the consolidation of the walls without endangering the lives of the workers there. On the other hand, we are now working on preparing an evaluation on everything that means the reorganisation and redevelopment of the Praid Salt Mine for tourist access, and we aim to be one of the most beautiful tourist attractions in Europe. (...) We estimate about RON 70 million will be generated by the natural wonder that the Praid salt mine is."
Asked if the salt mine can be saved, the minister said that, from discussions with specialists, the chances are good.
"I am not a specialist in this subject, but I have great confidence that both with Mr. Director Dobrea [director of Salrom], and the other colleagues with whom I have now been on the spot, with experts who will come on June 3 and who will use the most advanced systems in the world on everything related to the salt mining segment, we will be able to have an assessment and we will be able to say exactly how soon we will be able to recover the Praid salt mine. But the chances are good, from talks with my colleagues."
Ivan also spoke about the local economic impact of the closure of the salt mine and said that, through the support mechanism designed by the government, the workers will be paid, and compensations will be granted to the boarding houses and hotels that suffered losses, Agerpres informs.
"We are with them and we are interested in finding a solution to reopen this mine and make it more beautiful than it was before."
Ivan also added that now solutions must be found to solve the problem, but an investigation must also be carried out to establish those responsible for this situation.
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