Major Romanian contractor for energy projects Romelectro files for insolvency

Romelectro, the company that designed a large part of Romania's energy system during the communist regime and carried out projects abroad, mostly in the Middle East, is asking for insolvency. This happens precisely when the country needs the most engineering companies able to develop major projects in the energy generation sector, Ziarul Financiar daily comments.

Romelectro, set up in 1971, has been operated by the former intelligence services Securitate under the supervision of Dan Ioan Popescu - an influential businessman after the fall of communism and Social Democrat politician (Hotnews.ro has published a DIP profile and his ties with Romelectro). After 1989, when close collaborators of Dan Ioan Popescu took it over, the company received major projects from the state, particularly during the Social Democrat Governments.

The company filed for bankruptcy on January 14, as the failure to complete the Iernut power plant for Romgaz reportedly deteriorated its financial position. The request was registered at the Bucharest Tribunal on January 14.

According to the latest available financial information, the company ended 2020 with a turnover of about RON 200 mln (EUR 41 mln) and a loss of RON 8 mln.

"About the capabilities of the Romelectro group, the references speak for themselves: the company carried out the design and complex engineering for more than 15,000 MW in conventional and nuclear power plants, representing 90% of the total installed capacity in Romania; complex rehabilitation programs for more than 3,000 MW; engineering and design for more than 150 high-voltage substations and approximately 22,000 km of designed or executed LEAs," reads the company's website.

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