Romania to start talks with Chinese partners on high-speed Vienna-Bucharest-Constanta railway

The technical talks with the Chinese partners on building a high-speed railway to link Vienna to Bucharest and the Black Sea port of Constant will start on Dec. 10, with the project being put at 11 billion euros, Romanian Transport Minister Ramona Manescu told a news conference on Tuesday.

'It is very clear that the need for development in Romania is much greater than the possibilities for financing from the European funds, and that is why this partnership with China is welcome. This partnership will be achieved by respecting all the requirements and criteria set by the European Union. I communicated the Chinese partners a range of proposals, among which to develop and build a high-speed railway. It is a European corridor that will start in Vienna, will go to Budapest, Bucharest and Constanta,' Manescu said.

She added: 'We will have the first working meeting on December 10, then a new one in the first half of January. We will probably begin with the section that is easy to achieve, thanks to the land conditions (Bucharest-Constanta). The very big interest is to link the port of Constanta'.

The minister explained the project totals 11 billion euros.

'We will begin the technical talks with the Chinese partners and we will know the exact deadlines, namely when the works start and when they finish, depending on how these technical talks advance and the moment we sign the contract', she stressed.

The minister said Romania's proposal is that the project be achieved under a public-private partnership.

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