The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is lending EUR 180.3 million for a major urban regeneration project to revitalise Romania's second city, Cluj-Napoca, transforming an industrial site into a major entertainment, retail, cultural and office mixed-use project while improving the surrounding infrastructure, reads a press release of the international financial institution.Of the total loan to Rivus Investments SRL, a company incorporated in Romania, EUR 132.8 million will be provided by the EBRD and EUR 57.5 million by commercial lenders. The EBRD loan is part of a larger financing package of up to EUR 400.6 million, including Erste Bank, BCR Romania and BRD Groupe Société Générale S.A."The funds pave the way for the development of the largest mixed-use urban regeneration project in Cluj-Napoca. It features the development of 132,500 square metres of Gross Lettable Area (GLA) commercial and entertainment space, through the consolidation and conversion of two historical buildings into a performing arts centre, office space and interactive family entertainment centres," the release reads.The investment also entails substantial infrastructure improvements to benefit the entire area, including the development of road, bike, and green infrastructure. Two pedestrian bridges and a four-lane vehicle bridge will be built over the Somes Mic River. The plan also features two new roundabouts, a road, an advanced smart traffic light system and the rehabilitation of a public square, car and bike parking spaces with electric vehicle charging stations, a park and urban garden (52,000 sqm green spaces). Part of the infrastructure development will be donated to the Municipality of Cluj upon completion for use by the community.'We are pleased to partner with an experienced local developer on this landmark urban-regeneration project in Cluj-Napoca. By transforming a long-neglected site into a vibrant public space, the initiative will both enhance the city's landscape and advance the goals of the EBRD Real Estate Sector Strategy 2025-2029, where urban regeneration is a core pillar. It also marks the Real Estate team's largest urban regeneration project signed so far this year, a milestone we are extremely proud of,' said Vlaho Kojakovic, Director of Real Estate for the EBRD.Rivus is 50 per cent owned by Iulius Group Romania and 50 per cent by Atterbury Europe.To date, the EBRD has invested more than EUR 11.5 billion in 560 projects in Romania.
Around 32% of Romanians plan to spend their upcoming holidays abroad, with Greece, Italy, and Spain topping the list of preferred destinations, according to the Visa CEE Travel and Payment Intentions Study 2025. Of those going abroad for the summer, nearly 40% say they are “experience seekers,” prioritizing discoveries and stepping out of their comfort […]
Călin Georgescu, the far-right, Russia-friendly politician who surprisingly emerged as the first-round winner of last year’s presidential elections, will remain under judicial supervision after the District 1 Court in Bucharest rejected his appeal against the prosecutors’ decision to extend the preventive measure,
The mayor of Timișoara, Dominic Fritz, will be the new leader of the Save Romania Union party, or USR, after he received 67.2% of the votes in an internal race. The vote for the new party president was conducted online and started Wednesday at 10 AM and ended Friday at noon. A total of 10,914 […]
The Sports Barometer in Romania, a study conducted by IRES and presented on Thursday, June 12, during the Sports Festival, reveals that 32% of Romanians do not engage in any type of physical activity, and that as age increases motivation drastically decreases. According to the study, 28% of Romanians are super-active and do a form […]
The Romanian-American University has officially launched the country’s first Department of Latin American Studies (DSLA), marking a significant step in its internationalization efforts. The inauguration brought together official representatives from eight Latin American countries - Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Mexico, Peru, and Uruguay - underlining the strong diplomatic support for deepening educational and cultural […]
Romanian president Nicușor Dan laid wreaths on Friday, June 13, at the Monument dedicated to the memory of the victims of the June 13–15, 1990 Mineriad and at the “Kilometer Zero of Democracy” Monument. The violent events of June 1990 remain in post-communist memory as the “June 13–15, 1990 Mineriad” and refer to the repression, […]
