• "If we find a serious investor, by 2015 we may already have the airport", claims Mihai Pascu, the vice-president of the County Council of Braşov
The shortlist of companies interested in the construction of the Braşov - Ghimbav International Airport will be drawn up this week and already comprises seven names. "The companies come from regions such as the Middle East, Germany, Italy, the United States of America, and possibly France or China", the vice-president of the County Council of Braşov, Mihai Pascu said. He also mentioned that the call for tenders can no longer be held this month, as previously announced, and the procedure may be announced next month.
The investment will amount to at least 60 million Euros. "If the people of ROMATSA will not participate in the building of the airport with the flight equipment, we will need to invest an additional 12 million Euros, which is the amount that ROMATSA has pledged to the building of the objective", Pascu said. "If we find a serious investor, by 2015 we may already have the airport", the quoted source said.
For now, the construction of the runway has not yet begun, even though the call for tenders was awarded since back in October last year. "For now, the project designed by Search Corporation, a partner of Vectra, which won the call for tenders, is still undergoing verification. We estimate that this process will take approximately one week, and then it the procedure for the approval of the Romanian Civilian Aeronautical Procedure will begin. Immediately after obtaining the approval, we will give the order to begin work on the runway", Pascu said.
The work on the runway will take at least 12 months from the moment it begins.
• No European funds can be accessed for now
Pascu contradicted several of the local politicians who claimed that they can get European funds through the Transport Operational Sectoral Program - the 2.4 axis. "This axis only refers to modernization, and development of already existing, D-Class airports, and which must have had a million passengers in the last two years", the vice-president of the County Council of Braşov. On this axis, Romania has been granted 52.291 million Euros, and the Suceava airport has requested 40 million Euros of that amount.