The government of Romania is to launch 13 public-private partnership (PPP) projects, including healthcare research centres, hospitals and an airport south of Bucharest with a capacity of 30 million passengers.
The airport would be built on a 600ha site in Ifov county, and would act as transit point between the Asia-Pacific, Europe and America.
Viorica Dancila, the prime minister of Romania, said: "We approved the five PPP projects on 24 May this year. Today, we approve eight more strategic investment projects. Of these, three are in the field of healthcare, which shows the interest of the Romanian government in improving medical services."
Three of the schemes will be in healthcare sector, including a national centre for blood, plasma and stem cell research, and 800-1,000-bed hospitals in Timisoara in the west and Galati in the east.
Other projects involve making the rivers Arges and Dambovita suitable for navigation, and the construction of a 190km canal between the town of Siret on the Ukrainian boarder and the transport hub of Baragan in the south.
The government also wants to build a factory and test track for electric vehicles, and a skiing complex in Fagaras mountains.
The May PPP schemes included three motorways and a medical complex in northern Bucharest.
It also emerged last week that Metrorex, the publicly owned company that manages Bucharest’s subway system, has approved prefeasibility studies for a €1.1bn extension of its fourth line, which now links the Gara de Nord train station to the Progresul Railway Station.
The line will be about 11km long, with 14 stations.
Image: Bucharest’s Henri Coanda Airport is nearing its capacity limits (Cristian Bortes/Creative Commons)
