State official: Romania to have 1,000 km of highways by mid-2018

Romania will have a total of 1,000 km of highways in two years, up from the 700 km the country has now, according to Catalin Homor, general manager of the state-owned National Highways Company CNADNR. This year, CNADNR should open for traffic some 66 km of the Lugoj-Deva and Sebes-Turda highway sections in western Romania, reports local Digi24. The 22-km section between Sibiu and Orastie should also be re-opened by the end of September. This segment was closed ten months after the inauguration due to structural problems. According to calculations made by local News.ro in early-July, Romania could reach some 1,000 km of highways be end-2017 if it manages to complete 260 km in 2016 and 2017. Data from the National Statistics Institute (INS), released in late April this year, showed that only 64 km of highways were finalized and opened for traffic in Romania last year, bringing the total highway network to 747 km. Thus, highways represent only 4.2% of Romania's road network. Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com