The residents of Bucharest can expect a difficult winter because the centralized thermal heating system is in worse shape than three-four years ago, the newly elected Bucharest mayor Nicușor Dan said in an interview with television station Romania TV.

The number of breakdowns is higher, and damage control is the only available option as there is no time for more elaborate works, he explained.

“We have about one month from taking over the mandate to the start of the winter; all we can do is damage control to have enough supplies in stock to intervene, to have teams to intervene,” he said. He also explained that private companies would also have to be contracted to intervene for repair works.

The works to replace the old pipe network of the city’s heating system could start in spring, using EU funds, Dan said. Some 1,000 km of piping need to be replaced, he said.

Dan also said the City Hall had debts of over RON 3 billion (EUR 616 million) at the end of 2019, a sum that, in the meantime, increased to an estimated RON 4 billion (EUR 821 million).

“The first thing we need to do is see the payment schedule to be able to keep things afloat in the months to come, and, on the other hand, start the work on the EU funds to be able to make several significant investments in the years to come: an overground metro line, upgrade the tram lines,” Dan told Romania TV.

(Photo: Nicusor Dan Facebook Page)

simona@romania-insider.com