Romania's Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCIR) is the state's "natural partner" in developing the 46-hectare land around the Romexpo exposition center in northern Bucharest, given the circumstances prevailing at this moment, the Chamber's president Mihai Daraban argues in a statement quoted by Ziarul Financiar.

He says the way the two parties should cooperate for the development is by the state granting the land for free to CCIR.

Daraban's statement comes after the Constitutional Court recently cleared the controversial draft law that transfers the 46-hectare plot to CCIR, free of charge.

The reformist platform USR-PLUS, the only of the three major political forces in Romania that opposes the deal, has asked president Klaus Iohannis not to promulgate the law.

The Coalition for Romania's Development (CDR) also criticized the deal, and the European Commission was reportedly notified about it.

The CCIR head argues that the organization he leads already has the right to use the land until 2053 and owns the buildings on it, namely the Romexpo exhibition center.

CCIR argues that by giving the land for free, the state would get EUR 202 million in taxes during the construction of the mixed-use complex and EUR 345 mln per year afterward (also in taxes, including from the 30,000 workplaces generated).

CCIR also addresses the developers' concerns accusing state aid or unfair competition: CCIR's private partner in the EUR 2.6 billion project, local developer Iulius Group, would pay rent for the land owned by CCIR.

With the money thus received (an undisclosed sum, as opposed to the precise calculations of the taxes received by the state), CCIR will "support the Romanian business environment."

CCIR also stresses that if the state wanted to use the land itself and remove CCIR from the project, it would have to pay about EUR 300 mln worth of penalties, roughly the equivalent of the land’s estimated value.

(Photo courtesy of CCIR)

iulian@romania-insider.com