Deadline extended for consultancy bids on €1.8 billion Romanian metro project

An impression of a station on the proposed Metro Line M1 in Cluj-Napoca, Romania. Photo: Cluj Napoca City Hall

In December 2023, Cluj-Napoca in northern Romania announced the latest extension to its deadline for the submission of consultancy bids on Metro Line M1.

The contract, valued at approximately €42.4 million is the largest ever agreement of this type for a Romanian transport project.

Funded through the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR), the contract is a major component of Metro Line M1, the first underground rail system outside of Bucharest.

The Romanian government has also announced it has given the green light to make compensation payouts totalling €57 million, to property owners facing expropriation due to the project.

Eight-year construction project

The contracting consortium on the project will be led by Gulermak (Turkey) in collaboration with Alstom and Arcada.

At the recent signing of financing contracts, Romania’s transport minister Sorin Grindeanu said, “The first stage, covering 9.16 km, including the section Sfânta Maria to Europa Unită [9 stations] and the depot, funded by PNRR, must be completed by the end of August 2026.

“In the second stage, funding will ensure the construction of the sections Țara Moților to Sfânta Maria [7 stations] and Piața Mărăști to Muncii [3 stations], totalling 11.87 km.”

On completion, the Metro Line will include 21 stations. Trains are expected to run at intervals of 90 seconds and the line will have a capacity of 15,000 to 20,000 passengers.

Construction of the metro system is expected to be ongoing until at least 2032.