The long awaited metro line connecting downtown Bucharest to Drumul Taberei neighborhood had its budget halved for 2012, after the budget rectification in August this year. The amounts should however be enough to cover work for this year, while the sums needed in 2013 will be covered from next year's budget.

Metrorex, the metro company operator in Bucharest previously estimated to have the first metro trains running on the new line – Line 5, connecting Valea Ialomitei to Izvor stations - in 2015.

The five-kilometer metro line had a budget of RON 380 million this year – or some EUR 84 million – which was cut down to half, as the Transport Ministry was among the most affected by the budget cut earlier this year.

Most of the funding was cut from the co-financing for projects covered with non-reimbursable EU funds, where the Ministry lost some EUR 222 million in the budget cut.

editor@romania-insider.com

(photo source: Metrorex)