The rehabilitation of the district heating in Bucharest is part, along with the laser project in Magurele, of the possible financing through the POIM program for large infrastructure, said the Minister of European Funds, Cristian Ghinea.

“I remind about the call that I made before the local elections in Bucharest for the City Hall, for works on the rehabilitation of the district heating in Bucharest, which has deadline until February next year. I hope to get things moving on this project also,” said Ghinea, quoted by Agerpres.

Ghinea said that in the second half of the year, payments in amount of 350 million euros will be made, on several projects phased, from the program of large infrastructure – POIM.

“In regard of the water and waste, there are counties where the projects are completed at a rate of 90-95% and expect only the phasing payments to be completed. For example, Hunedoara, where the project water and wastewater Hunedoara – Deva is 95% completed. Basically, with payments of 15 million euros this year we will completely finish this project,” said Ghinea.

The Minister of European Funds added that along with the POIM projects something similar happens with the competitiveness program.

“We signed the phasing of the laser project in Magurele, where we talk of another 174 million euros and works are already starting to be made. We received an invoice for 88 million lei from the Research Institute in Magurele. All these things make me more optimistic than the Fiscal Council, namely that we will use these 12 billion lei for co-financing (…) so we are talking about financing from the national budget. When we speak of European money, these projects are paid from the pre-financing received of 1.6 billion euros from the European Commission. (…) So all these projects are paid, when we speak, out of the pre-financing of the year 2014-2020, which is in the country, in amount of 1.6 billion euros. There is no way that projects are not moving”, said Cristian Ghinea.