Bucharest mayor Gabriela Firea has reacted after the Italian Embassy announced that it wants to sell a 3,000-sqm land plot in Nicolae Iorga park in downtown Bucharest in an auction.

Firea said that the City Hall would propose a land exchange agreement to the Italian Embassy, reports local News.ro. Thus, the Municipality wants to offer the Embassy another land plot of some 3,000 sqm in exchange for the plot in Nicolae Iorga park.

According to Firea, the Nicolae Iorga park on Calea Victoriei boulevard covers some 9,000 sqm, with around 3,000 sqm belonging to the Italian state and the rest to the City Hall.

The mayor added that, in 2012, the Italian Embassy requested a land exchange, offering the 3,000 sqm in Nicolae Iorga park in exchange for a piece of land in the north part of the capital. However, this land plot is private property. Thus, the mayor wants to try the land exchange idea this time, but it will offer a land plot in another part of the capital.

However, if the two institutions will not reach an agreement in this sense, the City Hall could begin negotiations with the Italian Embassy. The Embassy has set a starting price of EUR 5.52 million for the land plot in Nicolae Iorga park.

Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com