The government of Romania on August 19 endorsed an emergency ordinance (OUG) stopping the projects under the National Relaunch and Resilience Plan (PNRR) and national schemes including Anghel Saligny where the contracting procedures have not started and put on ice the projects with a completion rate of under 30% with a view of identifying financing sources for them, if possible, depending on specific circumstances.
Overcontracting investment projects under PNRR and Anghel Saligny has put pressure on the public budget due to the necessary co-financing and created a situation where not all the projects can be completed within the budgets of the respective schemes.
The minister of investments and European projects, Dragoş Pîslaru, announced that within 15 days, a list of projects that will benefit from PNRR financing, either from grants or loans, will be drawn up.
Pîslaru mentioned, during a press conference held at the Victoria Palace, that within 15 days of the adoption of the OUG, each ministry will specify which projects have registered physical progress of over 30%.
According to him, however, even projects that have registered less than 30% physical progress could benefit from PNRR funds, provided that they are achievable by August 2026. The ministries will also have to present the related costs, as well as the work schedules.
The minister emphasised that in the case of projects with a completion rate of less than 30%, the financing contract will be suspended, not terminated.
“Through this ordinance, we are not interrupting work contracts. Construction sites are not closing as a result of this OUG. We look at the source of financing and determine that, if we have an amount of money, we must focus on that amount of money so that we can use it,” he said.
At the Ministry of Development, which manages most investment contracts through the PNRR, there are currently 6,055 contracts, of which 5,282 contracts, representing 87% of total investments, have already been started. These investments are moving forward, said development minister Cseke Attila, as quoted by Hotnews.ro.
In contrast, 773 contracts, or 13%, for which investment has not begun and not a single euro has been paid for construction, will no longer be financed.
This prioritisation takes place given that the remaining period for the implementation of the PNRR projects is only one year. “There is simply no more time physically for these investments to be completed,” said the minister.
The OUG also provides for the limitation of projects financed from the Anghel Saligny scheme, the National Local Development Program, and the National Construction Program.
At Anghel Saligny, the total program is RON 66 billion (EUR 13 billion), with 5,758 investment objectives approved, of which 4,375 objectives worth RON 52 billion have been contracted, minister Attila specified. According to him, for 1,383 projects worth RON 14 billion, the contracting procedures have not started yet. For these, there will be no possibility of concluding new contracts.
For next year, the government will work on a system that will give predictability to all local administrative units (municipalities, towns, villages) that have projects under Anghel Saligny.
“In 2026, 2027, and 2028, each UAT will know for each investment how much money is allocated from the state budget,” said the minister of development.
iulian@romania-insider.com
(Photo source: Mfe.gov.ro)
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