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The need for investments in the development of the national transport infrastructure for the next 10 years amounts to 80 billion euros, interim Minister of Transports Dan Vilceanu told on Friday a speciality conference.
The EU, through the Green Deal, aims to reduce by 90 percent greenhouse gas emissions from transport by 2050. To achieve this ambitious goal, all European countries, including Romania, must contribute, he said.
"For Romania, these objectives overlap a set of historical problems, related to low cross-border and regional connectivity, outdated infrastructure, urban management and the fleet of used vehicles. Romania's efforts, especially after the accession to the EU in 2007, were concentrated on solving these problems," the official said.
He stressed that these efforts are not cheap.
"The Ministry of Transport is in the final stages of finalizing the Investment Plan for the development of national transport infrastructure for the next decade. According to the latter, the necessary financing for infrastructure development for all means of transport in the next 10 years, including transition measures for low-emission transport, amount to about 80 billion euros. Of these, over 60 percent of the expenditures are necessary for investments in the central TENT-E network," Vilceanu said.
According to the minister, funds from different programs must be used with maximum efficiency for the success of this project.
Present at the same event, Adina Valean, the European Commissioner for Transport, said that Romania's recovery plan is impressive and confirms Romania's plans to develop the transport sector, especially the railway sector, Agerpres.ro informs.
"The plan allocates 3.8 billion euros to railway infrastructure plus 400 million to green rolling stock. The figures could reach 5 billion by 2026, which is an unprecedented amount," Valean said.
The European Commissioner considers that new ways to finance this field need to be found next, as well as combining European grants with borrowing and lending instruments.
