During the last week of June, local and national stakeholders met for the first joint discussions at the Transgreen kickoff meetings in Romania’s two pilot sites: Tirgu Mures-Iasi and Arad (Radna)-Deva. Both local and national actors were open for dialogue and manifested their support for the upcoming process of integrated transport planning. Some interesting declarations and viewpoints were made.

The kickoff event focusing on the Arad (Radna)-Deva railway was organized by Zarand Association and WWF-Romania in Deva, on Monday, June 26th. The meeting focusing on the Tirgu Mures-Iasi highway took place in Miercurea Nirajului, on Thursday, June 29th being organized by Milvus Group Association, the project partner expert in this area.

The Deva meeting focused on the future of the Arad (Radna)-Deva railway in the context of the Romanian Transport Master Plan and the need to integrate low-impact solution in the large infrastructure projects in the Carpathians. Representatives of the Ministry of Transport could share perspectives on the project with stakeholders from the pilot area, protected areas custodians and managers and NGOs.

“The (n.r. Transgreen) project ensures predictability for the implementation of transport infrastructure projects and can be an instrument for acceleration their implementation” declared mr. Robert Dobre, councilor in the Transport Master Plan Implementation Office, Ministry of Transport.

The meeting in Miercurea Nirajului had the active participation of representatives of local communities from the Niraj – Târnava Mică are, protected areas administrators, representatives of the Mureș Riverbasin Administration plus representatives of the Ministry of Transport, the Road Infrastructure Management National Company, the planning company and an enironmental consultancy company. The event established a platform for discussions related to the route of the planned highway, as well as social and environmental problems that would appear once the construction begins. The current stage of the highway (reviewing the plan and prospecting) allows for all stakeholders opinions to be integrated in order to develop the best solutions for people and nature.

The meeting offered a frame for local mayors to express their opinions regarding the route of the highway. The mayor of Miercurea Nirajului, Mr. Tóth Sándor, for instance, had the chance to signal the the present plan foresees the crossing of the town itself, and he proposed an already verified alternative.