Romania has completed the renegotiation process of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP) with the European Commission, a process that has been going on for more than a year, Minister of Investments and European Projects Dragoș Pîslaru said on July 31, during a press conference, according to Economedia.
He implied that, despite the delays in most of the segments, the negotiations resulted in a possibly higher absorption rate.
Pîslaru said that the government is working on the fourth payment request, to be submitted after the renegotiated PNRR plan is approved by the European Commission. He said that he hopes the money under the fourth request will be disbursed by the end of the year.
The minister said that Romania is going to get the entire amount of grants earmarked under PNRR (EUR 13.57 billion), but on the loan side, there is a reduction in the component, to EUR 8 billion from an initial available amount of EUR 15 billion. Romania’s lower borrowing capacity is among the reasons, he explained.
The minister confirmed that five lots of the A7 Moldova motorway will be financed from PNRR grants, instead of loans. Regarding the A8 motorway, which is losing its PNRR funding, Pîslaru said it could be funded instead under the Transport Program (cohesion funds) or under the SAFE Program.
Pîslaru also said that, in addition to the five hospitals that are in line with the schedule to be built with PNRR money, three new hospitals were added.
“We now have funding of EUR 535 million for eight hospitals. The three new hospitals have a total of EUR 260 million that we have now obtained in these negotiations,” the minister said.
In addition, significant additional amounts were obtained for the Renovation Wave (home renovation grants) – EUR 180 million, EUR 400 million for water and sewage networks, EUR 80 million for the digitalization of the judicial system, and EUR 86.25 million for the production of green hydrogen.
Dragoș Pîslaru said that he succeeded in bringing two new investments into the PNRR, which were not in the PNRR until now.
Thus, EUR 183.6 million was obtained for new ambulances throughout the country.
The second is related to funds dedicated to financial instruments – EUR 100 million for the capitalisation of the Investment and Development Bank.
Other smaller investments: the national building registry, the water cadastre – EUR 30 million, but also EUR 15 million for the automation of public administration processes, RPA, and artificial intelligence.
(Photo: Gov.ro)
iulian@romania-insider.com
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