Bucharest General Council passes 2026 budget with increased investments
The Bucharest General Council adopted the city’s 2026 budget valued at RON 8.5 billion (EUR 1.62 billion) on Tuesday, May 5. The budget includes RON 2.7 billion in investments, compared to under RON 1 billion in 2025.
The budget was presented by the general mayor, Ciprian Ciucu, during a public debate organized at the City Hall headquarters. Ciucu also emphasized that the administration is currently forced to recover delays and cover debts accumulated in previous years.
“The municipality of Bucharest has very low budgetary flexibility; all the money we receive comes from the government. The taxes paid by Bucharest residents go to the districts, not to the City Hall. In the last two years, RON 3.5 billion has been missing from the City Hall’s budget,” said the mayor at the beginning of the debate, according to Digi24.
In the end, the draft budget was adopted with 48 votes in favor and 5 abstentions.
After the budget was adopted, Bucharest City Hall announced the priorities up for funding. According to local authorities, RON 2.7 billion is available this year for the development of the capital. The same source mentioned that more than half of this amount is represented by European funds.
The funds will go toward several critical projects, such as the modernization of the district heating system, the modernization of the lighting system, and the rehabilitation of 50 km of tram tracks. Bucharest’s public transport system will also receive RON 85 million to renew its fleet and RON 44.8 million for modernizing three depots, among other projects.
The Bucharest City Hall is also allocating funds for securing the residential block in Rahova that was impacted by an explosion, restoring the Voievodal Palace Curtea Veche, modernizing Izvor Park, a solution competition for major urban regeneration projects, and the arrangement of an additional 13 kilometers of bicycle lanes.
Money will also go to consolidating buildings at seismic risk, but also the passages in Bucur Obor, Lujerului, and Victoriei, and the Băneasa Bridge.
By comparison, the "operating" budget for 2026 stands at RON 4 billion, down from RON 4.9 billion last year. A further RON 2.59 billion will go to subsidies, divided into RON 1.37 billion for public transport and RON 1.2 billion for the district heating system.
Back in March, Ciucu warned that Bucharest risked entering into payment default.
(Photo source: Primăria Municipiului Bucureşti on Facebook)
