“The adoption of the long awaited Transport Infrastructure Master Plan by the Romanian Government is an important step towards building the robust infrastructure Romania needs to ensure its long-term development and authorities and political parties must bear in mind that this is only a necessary first step. The next one is to prioritize inside the Master Plan. Authorities must decide the projects they want to focus on in the next 3 to 5 years and make sure that these projects have the necessary financing and management capacity to be completed in time,” the FIC said.
Moreover, the Government, political parties and other institutional actors must be aware that European funds available are not enough to cover the costs of implementing the Master Plan.
Thus, Romania must commit its own funds from the state budget and attract private capital where possible, while the Finance Ministry should also be open to provide a framework for multiannual budgeting at least for large scale and complex infrastructure projects, according to foreign investors’ representatives.
The Finance Ministry should develop tools for capital expenditure (CAPEX) on infrastructure because such expenditure is of a non-recurring nature and results in acquisition of permanent assets.
According to the latest World Economic Forum Competitiveness Report, Romania ranks 72nd out of 139 countries in terms of infrastructure quality.
Speeding up investments in infrastructure will increase Romania’s competitiveness and help it attract more investments, FIC said.