2013-03-01 16:48:37 - Recently published research from Business Monitor International, "Romania Infrastructure Report Q2 2013", is now available at Fast Market Research

Key developments over the last quarter:

* In September 2012, Italian renewable energy company Enel Green Power announced that it had connected the 48-megawatt (MW) Moldova Noua wind farm, located at Gemenele, in Braila county in Romania, to the national electricity grid, reports Power Technology. The facility will generate 130mn kilowatt hours (kWh) and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 70,000 tonnes. In October 2012, GDF Suez Energy Romania announced that it would finish building a EUR75mn wind farm by early December 2012. Beyond this 48MW facility, the Romanian subsidiary of France's GDF Suez was also looking into the viability of additional projects, according to local CEO Eric Stab. Enel Green Power now has a portfolio of Romanian wind farms with

an overall production capacity of 292MW. The company is also developing a further 206MW of new facilities within the country.
* CEZ Group announced in late November 2012 that its Fantanele/ Congealac wind farm, located in southeastern Romania on the Black Sea shore, became operational as the last wind turbine of the plant was connected. The Fantanele-Cogealac wind farm consists of 240 units of GE 2.5MW wind turbines, with a total output of 600MW; the total project cost was estimated at EUR1.1bn (CZK 27bn). The completion of the wind farm now makes it Europe's largest onshore wind farm.
* Bulgaria's Prime Minister Boyko Borisov expressed his confidence in October 2012 that the Calafat- Vidin bridge connecting his country to Romania by road and rail across the Danube would be completed by May 2013 at the latest. His announcement followed a helicopter flight he took across the bridge with his Romanian counterpart Victor Ponta, against a backdrop where there have been significant delays to completion, which had originally been scheduled for December 2010. Complications on the Bulgarian side of the construction process, which then had ramifications for the work on the Romanian side, were the key factors behind the delays. The duration of the project has spanned terms in office for five prime ministers in Romania.
* Romania's Ministry of Regional Development & Tourism announced in August 2012 that EUR68.4mn of funding had been approved for 53 new projects by the Joint Selection Committee for Hungary-Romania Cross-border Cooperation. Of these projects, 26 (accounting for a total of EUR36mn) were centred on improvements to cross-border infrastructure, including road and cycle-way improvement, and water and waste services.
* The European Commission approved a grant of EUR210.9mn for the construction of the Timisoara- Lugoj motorway and Timisoara bypass in western Romania, according to a press release by the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure (August 2012). Added to a smaller contribution by Romania's government (totalling EUR37.2mn), financing was therefore in place for the project, which would result in a two-lane motorway and a 25.6km bypass, involving three parking areas, two interchanges, 13 bridges and 19 overpasses.
* In September 2012, Cluj County Council announced that Italy's Romita Energie Verde had pledged to invest EUR41mn in a 10MW biomass plant in its jurisdiction. The project was expected to take 18 months to complete and would be located in Rascruci, near the Tetarom III Industrial Park.
* The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) announced, in December 2012, that it has awarded a EUR175mn (US$227mn) loan to Romanian railway operator Compania Nationalade Cai Ferate (CFR). The loan will enable CFR to repay its short-term debt liability, thereby enabling it to undertake vital maintenance work on the Romanian railway network. The EBRD has now invested more than EUR500mn (US$649mn) in the development of the Romanian transport infrastructure system.
* In late November 2012 the Brasov County Council in Romania gave the go-ahead for the development of the long-awaited airport in the central county of Brasov. The council awarded construction contract for the Brasov-Ghimbav International Airport runway to local construction firm Vectra Service. The project is expected to involve an investment of EUR13mn (US$16.7mn) and the runway construction work is likely to begin in spring 2013, according to the council's vice president, Mihai Pascu. The project is due to be completed in 10.5 months, and the runway will be 2,820m long and 45m wide. This will result in increasing the region's investment potential, as well as benefit small- and medium-sized companies.
* The tender for two major road building contracts, worth a total of RON8.8bn (US$2.6bn), are being planned to be launched in early 2013 by the Romanian National Company for Motorways & National Roads (CNADNR), according to PMR. The contracts to design, build, finance, operate and maintain the roads are for a 121km road between Craiova in north east Romania and Pitesti, and a 133km road joining the cities of Ploiesti, Buzau and Focsani. The first contract for the 121km road is estimated to cost between RON3.7bn (US$1.1bn) and RON4.9bn (US$1.45bn), while the second contract would cost between RON4.4bn (US$1.3bn) and RON5.9bn (US$1.75bn).


Full Report Details at
- www.fastmr.com/prod/541269_romania_infrastructure_report_q2_2013 ..


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