Cluj County Council announced on Tuesday, September 10, that it kicked off the procedures to obtain the environmental permit necessary to conduct the feasibility study for the Velo Apuseni project. The initiative is aimed at creating a total of 227 km of bike trails in the Apuseni Mountains, on the territories of Cluj, Bihor, and Alba counties.

The authorities need a permit from the Cluj Environmental Protection Agency because the project route overlaps with the protected natural areas of Apuseni Natural Park and the Apuseni-Vlădeasa Mountains. According to the legislation, it’s necessary to assess the impact of public projects of this type on the environment.

“After obtaining the environmental permit, as well as the other approvals and permits requested by the urban planning certificate, we will start elaborating the technical documentation for the authorization and execution of the works. We are confident that we will start the first works on the trails over the course of next year,” said Cluj County Council president Alin Tișe.

The Velo Apuseni project targets the creation of a total of 227 km of bicycle trails on the territory of Cluj, Bihor, and Alba counties. Over 40%, namely at least 92.4 km of these, will be set up in Cluj county.

According to the project, the proposed route will cross no less than eight localities in Cluj: Mărgău, Beliș, Mărișel, Rîșca, Călățele, Sâncraiu, Săcuieu, and Poieni.

The value of the financing contract is RON 110 million, the money being fully provided by the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR).

irina.marica@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Anatoliygleb/Dreamstime.com)