The project of the power plant that Romgaz is building in Iernut was a total failure, as the works were delayed for several years and no one checked them, but the power plant must be completed this year, Energy Minister Virgil Popescu said on Tuesday.

“The managers of Romgaz preferred to hold and run the company from gas extraction and gas sales. I think we need to go through this stage and become professional and involved managers, with a dedicated team for each project, to follow each project and complete the projects,” he said, according to Agerpres.

Popescu pointed out that the Iernut power plant is necessary for the energy system, and the project must be completed this year.

“There was a total failure of the old management of Romgaz, that was content to say that we have a turnkey contract and it is the responsibility of the construction company to perform for the turnkey contract. Look, the construction company failed and what do we do? We are resuming the works, to complete by the end of the year this investment, which is absolutely necessary,” the government official added.

The minister accused Romgaz of not having an independent evaluator to check the works’ status.

“Only now is this being done, we see the state of the works. It was mandatory, from my point of view, for Romgaz to have an independent contractor to supervise works and to report any deviations,” he said.