General Council of Bucharest Municipality (General Council) approved on Monday the action to take on a loan from the Ministry of Finance of up to 248 million lei, payable in 20 years with an annual interest rate of 3% to finance current expenditures for heating distribution this winter in Bucharest, writes Mediafax.

“We note that the express provisions of GEO 46/2015 art. 4 paragraph 3 assuming full responsibility in order to use the loan that was contracted, must be correlated in the interest of applying the Order with the existence and operation of the escrow account where Bucharest city is obliged to make all payments to RADET”, reads the document approved by the Council.

Earlier, the Chairman of the Board of RADET, Gabriel Dumitraşcu, said: “(The loan – e.n) resolves 50% of the problem because to enter this amount in the financial circuit will require a budget revision and approval of the 2015 budget of RADET.”

Ministry of Finance will communicate the amount they will lend eventually for the City Hall in early December.

“I hope the number to be 248 million lei. We talked with RADET to see exactly how much they need, but I want to have sit downs so that later this month to have the budget for RADET on the daily ordinary meeting agenda. The money requested will reach to us with destination for heating in the winter season 2015-2016,” said the acting mayor of Bucharest, Ştefănel Dan Marin, quoted by Mediafax.

“It’s more expensive (than a loan from a bank – e.n) but as long as the Government has given us the opportunity to borrow from the Treasury through the Ministry of Finance is the only way, not that I would agree with the interest”, said Dan Marin Ştefănel.

“At this point we should not access a new credit, it is very important the gas consumption presented to us by ELCEN. I do not think there will be problems until March”, the acting mayor concluded.