EUROPEAN COMMISSION

PRESS RELEASE

Brussels, 12 June 2014

Almost EUR 410 million of Regional Funds for the extension of the

The European Commission has approved an investment of €409.5 million from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) for the extension of the metro line 5 in Bucharest. This project involves the construction of 6.7 km of a new metro line with 10 stations and 1 depot between and the existing Eroilor metro station. The main beneficiaries for this project are the 335 000 inhabitants of the Drumul Taberei area who will be able to switch from private road to public clean transport. 3000 jobs are expected to be created during the works and 246 jobs when the project will be finished. Commenting on the decision, Commissioner for Regional Policy Johannes Hahn said “This project is a good example of how EU regional funds can help to return to the path of growth. It will contribute to improving the mobility of our citizens, ensuring safe, sustainable and environmentally friendly travel conditions and making the capital Bucharest even more attractive for investors”.

The investment comes through the EU Regional Policy programme "Transport" under the priority axis "Modernization and development of the national transport infrastructure aiming at sustainable national transport system". The ERDF will finance €409.5m out of a total of €481.7 million.

Background: This is a "major project", of which the total investment (VAT included) is above €50 million and thus subject to a specific decision by the European Commission, whereas other types of projects are approved at national or regional levels. The co-financing decision for this project falls under the programming period 2007- 2013Romania has been allocated approximately €20 billion in total cohesion policy funding from 2007-2013. For the 2014-2020 period Romania has been allocated € 22.9 billion (current prices).

Contacts : Shirin Wheeler (+32 2 296 65 65) - (mobile: +32 460766565) Annemarie Huber (+32 2 299 33 10) - (mobile: +32 460 793 310)

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More information: EU-funded 'Major Projects' EU Cohesion Policy in Romania 2007-2013 EU Cohesion Policy in Romania 2014-2020 Project contact

Twitter: @EU_Regional @JHahnEU

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