Sheer Robbery In Downtown Bucharest: 34 Hectares Deforested To Make Room For 45-Storey Buildings

The land currently occupied by the Tei Boboc tree nursery in Bucharest could be turned into a residential area comprising apartment buildings as tall as 30 and 45 storeys, which is unprecedented in the city. Dan Trifu, Vice President of the non-governmental association Eco-Civica, told BURSA that the Bucharest City Environment Agency had received a request to authorize the complete deforestation of the 34-hectare Tei Boboc tree nursery, where Spanish investors were planning to build several apartment towers, including some as tall as 45 storeys.

"The city plan has been approved already. When we found out about it, it was too late to do anything. Practically, all they need now is the deforestation approval, which will be a disaster for the area and for Bucharest. We are talking about 34 hectares in total, of which the tree nursery occupies 20 hectares, whereas another owner has 14 hectares. Moreover, we are talking about at least two buildings of 45 storeys each and at least two buildings of 30 storeys each. That is as tall as 150 metres," Trifu explained for BURSA. "You imagine what a disaster it will be for Bucharest, which already does not have enough green areas as it is," he added, referring to the fact that Bucharest was planned to reach 26 square metres of green areas per capita by 2013.

Referring to the city planning approvals for the future buildings, the Eco-Civica Vice President Dan Trifu indicated that "the plan has been approved by the Municipality and, according to the law, stipulates a minimum quota of 30 per cent of green spaces for each construction. However, there are numerous buildings in other areas that do not have as much as five square metres of green spaces, but no one checks and no one does anything about it." As for the Tei Boboc tree nursery, "The Environment Directorate has the final say on the matter, but, in this case, we could say that the project is already in the pipeline," Trifu added.

The overall status of green spaces in Bucharest is rather serious, according to the evaluation made by Eco-Civica. Another 54 applications for city planning approvals are currently on the agenda of the Bucharest City Council (CGMB) and, according to Dan Trifu, "only four or five of them are in good order." The documents are subject to vote and, if approved, will exceed the limit stipulated in the City Master Plan (PUG) by nearly 480,000 square metres. Representatives of several environmental NGOs claim that the respective investors will thereby receive a "gift" of 239 million EUR. According to them, the large number of applications for city planning approvals on the City Council"s agenda is a direct consequence of the fact that derogations from the city planning standards will be much harder to come by as of 1 October.