Prime Minister Ludovic Orban declared on Friday in Orsova that there is no scenario for Romania to return to the state of emergency and quarantine, stating that the situation is under control.
“There is no such scenario, as you can see, we have stopped the increase in the number of infections for five weeks, and in fact we’ve had a slight downward trend in the number of cases for two weeks. Of course, the decrease is not as we would like it to be, but the situation is under control, we have limited the spread of the virus, the treatment capacity is not overwhelmed, all the structures of the health system have the possibility and are handling the situation we are in. No such hypotheses are being considered,” Orban replied when asked if Romania could return to the state of emergency and lockdown.
The Romanian Prime Minister participated on Friday, in Orsova – southwestern Mehedinti County, in the presentation of the project “Prunisor-Orsova-Baile Herculane-Jupa natural gas transmission pipeline”.
Romania will enjoy unprecedented opportunities in the coming years
Prime Minister Ludovic Orban considers that in the coming years Romania will enjoy development opportunities that have been unprecedented for years.
“Fortunately, in the next at least seven years Romania will enjoy opportunities it has not had lately. First of all, Romania is an increasingly attractive country to its partners. Secondly, Romania will qualify for funding that it has not enjoyed in its previous history, important external funding, either from the European Union budget in 2021-2027, or from the resilience and recovery facility designed at a European level, or from other programmes (…) running on money from the European Union budget,” Orban said in Drobeta Turnu-Severin, Mehedinti County, on Friday.
He added that the emphasis must be on preparing to access the funds that will be available to Romania.
“The next few years will be decisive for Romania’s economic development. We have made the firm decision to thoroughly prepare every programme, every field of activity, every project, so that when the money is accessible, we will be ready to use it as soon as possible, as efficiently as possible and with as many beneficial effects to the daily life of Romanians and for the economic development of Romania as possible,” said Orban.
He added that the investment and economic recovery programme is designed for the development of transport, energy, communications, healthcare, and educational infrastructures that will lay the foundations for a rapid modernisation of Romania.
Only 35% of Romania’s population is connected to gas network
Prime Minister Ludovic Orban declared on Friday in Orsova, where he participated in the presentation of the project “Prunisor-Orsova-Baile Herculane-Jupa natural gas transmission pipeline”, that only 35% of Romania’s population is connected to the gas network.
“Only 35% of Romania’s population is connected to the gas network. Romania has gas and we almost have no petrochemistry left, because the PSD [Social Democratic Party] locusts have robbed the entire underlying petrochemical industry. Or, it is known that gas can be most efficiently exploited in petrochemistry, not when you burn it directly. We therefore need to use this resource intelligently, first of all, to connect as many households as possible to the natural gas network. Our program – ‘Romanian gas in Romanian homes’ – which has been launched for two years now, is a programme we support,” said Orban.
The PM went on to say that the investment in the project “Prunisor-Orsova-Baile Herculane-Jupa natural gas transmission pipeline” will bring natural gas to Orsova most likely in 2023, and the entire gas pipeline will be completed in 2024.
“The investment in this Prunisor-Jupa pipeline, which is made by Transgaz (…), is an investment that will clearly have beneficial effects. There are almost 40 localities with about 100,000 people living here, who will be able to warm up with gas, will be able to prepare their food with gas, they will no longer depend on wood or other improvisations in terms of heating, and, mind you, it will increase the attractiveness of the area for investments as well,” added Ludovic Orban.
The Minister of Economy, Virgil Popescu, was also present at the event, and spoke about the direct link between tourism development and infrastructure development.
“In order to develop the natural gas distribution network in Orsova, we need to have a transmission pipeline in Orsova, and this new pipeline (…) will bring gas to the people of Orsova and the Danube Gorge area. (…) We must become a European regional tourist destination and for this we need infrastructure, and tourism without transport, gas, energy, water and sewerage infrastructure, communications, cannot be achieved in 2020,” said the Minister of Economy, Virgil Popescu.
