Bucharest doesn’t get a new look as the General Council rejects city center upgrading projects

The Romanian capital will not get a new look, as the General Council of Bucharest (CGMB) has rejected on Tuesday all the upgrading projects that were targeting the city's central area. Bucharest’s Unirii Boulevard, Cantacuzino and Lahovari squares, Izvor Park, Sala Palatului, and the Flowers Market were supposed to be revamped within these projects. Moreover, the projects also included other major transformations, such as building underground parkings with more than 3,100 places, reconstrucing the Mihai Voda bridge over the Dambovita River, which had been demolished after the earthquake in 1977, and redesigning the Izvor park and the area around Sala Palatului. However, these projects also included cutting some 500 old trees, which may have caused some protests. During CGMB’s last meeting this year, the councilors decided to reject these projects. Some of them wondered about the rush to vote these projects between Christmas and New Year’s Eve, demanding explanations from Bucharest’s chief architect, Gheorghe Patrascu, reports local Mediafax. In return, the architect responded that there was no emergency in voting these projects but, taking into account that they would be financed through the new Regional Operational Program that starts in late-January, the vote would be necessary sooner rather than later. He also said that, after CGMB’s approval, the Council should also give its OK on the feasibility studies and this should happen before submitting the financing requests. Bucharest loses EU funds of over EUR 27 mln for road underpass, hospital, and touristic circuit. Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com