Daniel Băluţă, the mayor of Bucharest’s District 4, signed the order to start work on the extension of the M4 subway line on Thursday, December 4. The investment is valued at EUR 3.5 billion and the route will be 11 kilometers long, between Gara de Nord and Gara Progresul railway stations.
The extension will have 14 new stations, according to the authorities.
“The extension of the M4 line will bring 58.6 million passengers per year by 2040. It is perhaps the clearest sign that we are entering a new stage for the capital. We are investing EUR 3.5 billion, over RON 17 billion, non-reimbursable European funds, attracted by District 4, to unite the north and south of the city through a modern, continuous, and predictable metro line,” said Daniel Băluţă at a press conference held alongside the Social Democrat (PSD) minister of transport, Ciprian Şerban.
The subway extension will pass through the territories of Districts 1, 4, and 5 and the commune of Jilava, in Ilfov County.
The project will have two years of planning and five years of execution, creating 5.600 temporary jobs and around 900 permanent ones. The building phase will not disrupt the traffic, according to the mayor.
“In terms of infrastructure, the subway network grows by almost 22%, an unprecedented leap, through a single project. People will feel this directly. Less time wasted, fewer blockages, less stress,” Băluţă stated, according to Agerpres.
“I assure citizens that the start of these works does not mean that traffic will be disrupted,” added the District 4 mayor, who is currently running for general mayor of Bucharest.
Transport minister Ciprian Şerban, in turn, added that the subway line extension is the largest infrastructure project in the capital. As both politicians are part of the Social Democratic Party, they also used the opportunity to campaign.
The signing is a welcome reprieve for the PSD candidate for the general mayor, who has recently been under fire due to two scandals. The first concerns the authorization issued in 2023 for an 11-story building right next to the Bellu Cemetery in Bucharest.
The second regards the wealth of Daniel Băluță’s family. Journalists at Public Record revealed that Băluță’s parents bought seven apartments and a penthouse with parking spaces and storage rooms in the former Rin Grand hotel in District 4. The two pensioners paid EUR 460,000 for the purchases.
Polls give Daniel Băluță as one of the leading candidates for Bucharest mayor. The elections will take place on December 7.
(Photo source: PS4.ro)
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