Constanţa Casino’s restoration to be completed in a year, mayor says

The restoration of the Casino in Constanța, a landmark of the Romanian Black Sea coast, will be completed in July 2024, mayor Vergil Chiţac said during a TV show, quoted by News.ro. According to him, the renovation is roughly 70% done at the moment.

Mayor Chiţac said at local Prima TV that the initial project changed after on-site inspections, which translated into higher costs.

"The tender was awarded to a local company in 2019 […]. However, they had one project in their hands, and when they entered there, they saw that the project could not be respected. Let me give you an example: the ceiling on the first level was designed not to be demolished, not to collapse. When they went in there and tested it, they saw that it was all rotten. This means you have a project that cannot be respected. When it can't be respected, for every element that can't be respected, you have to redesign. This means higher costs," Vergil Chiţac explained.

According to him, the same company is to continue the restoration, which is set to be completed in July 2024. The project kicked off in January 2020.

The Constanța Casino, although a landmark of the Romanian seafront, had been abandoned for many years. In 2018, it was included on Europa Nostra's list of most endangered heritage sites in Europe.

(Photo source: Facebook/Vergil Chiţac)