Romania asks for EC financing for subway line from Bucharest to airport

Romania’s Transport Ministry sent a financing request to the European Commission for the subway line connecting Bucharest to the Otopeni airport on December 24. The project has a total value of EUR 1.39 billion, the ministry announced on Wednesday, December 27. Romania already secured a EUR 320 million financing for this project through a loan from Japan’s International Cooperation Agency (JICA) signed in 2010. Metro line 6 will have 14.2 kilometers and 12 stations. It will have a transport capacity of 50,000 passengers per hour and will provide a direct connection between Bucharest’s main railway station (Gara de Nord) and the Henri Coanda International Airport (Otopeni) in Northern Bucharest. The subway connecting Bucharest to the Otopeni airport will certainly be completed by 2020, when Romania will host matches of the European Football Championship, transport minister Felix Stroe said last week. However, the deadline is very tight as the Government hasn’t yet selected a contractor for this project. The construction work should start in the second half of 2018 and be completed in two years, which means that the metro line may not be ready by the start of EURO 2020. Romania will host four matches at the European Football Championship in 2020 on Bucharest’s National Arena. One of UEFA’s requests for including Bucharest among the cities to host EURO 2020 matches was that the local authorities build a direct connection from the airport to the city center. Expropriations approved for Bucharest airport metro line editor@romania-insider.com