A7 and A8 highway segments in Romania lose Resilience Facility funding due to delays, minister says

Several segments in Romania's A7 and A8 highway projects have lost funding from the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) due to project delays, the minister of investments and European projects, Dragoș Pîslaru, announced on Tuesday, July 15, as reported by Biziday.ro. He did not specify which segments of these highways were affected.

The statement came during a press conference held after a meeting of the Interministerial Coordination Committee for the PNRR.

“At the moment, we are in a situation where approximately EUR 6.3 billion worth of projects, based on technical analyses and other factors, can no longer be completed by the August 2026 deadline or fail to meet the required percentages,” minister Pîslaru said.

He emphasized that a full reassessment had taken place and that Romania would not lose any non-reimbursable funds from the PNRR. However, non-functional contracts have been halted.

“These are projects affected by procurement issues, including several highway segments that have shown no physical progress. These problems stem from delays in launching the projects. […] It’s not new - we’ve been discussing these delays since August 2024,” he added.

The minister also said that a public list of stalled projects would be released once final negotiations are complete. “If there’s no progress at all, there’s no way something can be finished by August 2026,” he stated.

Authorities are now looking for alternative funding sources for priority sections of the A7 and A8 highways that are no longer covered by the PNRR.

Minister Dragoș Pîslaru also stated that some highway segments would now be fully financed from national funds, which will allow their construction to continue despite the loss of PNRR financing.

The A7 highway, meant to connect Ploiești to Siret, would pass through Buzău, Focșani, Bacău, Pașcani, and Suceava. The A8 highway, known as the "Union Highway," is planned to link Târgu Mureș to Ungheni via Ditrău, Poiana Largului, Târgu Neamț, Pașcani, Târgu Frumos, and Iași.

(Photo source: Facebook/Sorin Grindeanu)