Braşov wants to host the Winter Olympics of 2022

Yesterday, at the Braşov Business Days forum, the mayor of Braşov, George Scripcaru, said, that the city may apply for hosting the Winter Olympics in 2022. "We have talked to the president of the Romanian Olympic Committee, Octavian Morariu, and to the head of the International Olympic Committee, Jacques Rogge, and we have agreed to have the city of Braşov submit our application for hosting the Winter Olympics of 2022, if the Olympic Festival of the European Youth which we will be hosting in 2013, goes well".

The mayor announced that by winter this year, the construction work on the ski slopes will be completed, meaning that Romanians "would no longer need to go Austria or to other countries to ski". "Romania would be far more capable of hosting a winter edition of the Olympics than it would the summer edition", Scripcaru added, and said that a possible candidacy of Braşov would attract far more investments in infrastructure in the central area of the country.

George Scripcaru said that Poiana Braşov would become the most important resort in Romania when it comes to winter tourism following the investments of 30 million Euros supported by the Ministry of Regional Development and Tourism and by the mayoralty of Braşov, and it would include 20 km of slopes which would meet the international standards. "We are also considering setting up a Leisure Center which would make Poiana Braşov attractive in the summer as well as in winter. We will invest 8 million Euros in such a center, as well as six more million Euros in a parking lot located on the outskirts of the resort, meaning that those who come visiting have a place were to leave their cars", the quoted source said.

• "Mercedes decided not to come to Braşov because of the infrastructure"

On the matter of the road infrastructure, the mayor of Braşov said that he hopes to launch a call for bids shortly for the highway section between Comarnic - Braşov - Codlea - Făgăraş, in order to attract as many investors to the county as possible. "Braşov missed out on a large number of investments because it was seriously lacking in the infrastructure department. When Mercedes was looking to open a plant in Romania, it considered opening it in Braşov, but due to the lack of infrastructure, it decided to invest in Hungary", the mayor of Braşov said.