“If you want to discover Romania, don't drive, rent a helicopter.” This is the first line of a recent article published by The Economist on its Eastern Approaches blog, and this was also the advice given by Romanian president Traian Basescu to some Gulf investors earlier this year.

Most of Romania's 300 km of highways were built in the Communist period and most roads are now clogged, showing their age, according to the Economist. Trains are not much better.

“The country once had more than 3,000km of highways. On paper, that is, projected at the orders of Nicolae Ceausescu, the country's former Communist ruler. Barely a tenth of that was built. Compare neighbouring Hungary, less than half Romania's size, which boasts over 1,100km of highway,” writes The Economist.

Read the full article, titled "Romania's motorway blues" here.

editor@romania-insider.com