The number of residential building permits issued in Romania in the first five months of the year was 0.5 percent down from the year-ago period, shows data released on Friday by the National Institute of Statistics (INS).As many as 14,050 residential building permits were released between January 1 - May 31, 2024, with lower numbers of such authorizations recorded in the following development regions: Center (-237 permits), North-West (-122) and South-East (-59).Conversely, the following development regions saw an increase in the number of permits in the reporting period as follows: West (+108), Bucharest-Ilfov (+76), South-Muntenia (+64), South-West Oltenia (+5).As many as 3,050 residential building permits were released in May 2024, by 528 (14.8 percent) fewer compared to April 2024, for a total usable floor area of 698,534 sqm (-19.2 pct). Of the total residential building permits, 68 percent were for the rural area.The distribution by development regions of the decline in the number of permits released this May is as follows: South-Muntenia (-116), North-East (-106), West and Bucharest-Ilfov (-83 each), North-West and Center (-80, each), and South-East (-4). Conversely, the Southwest Oltenia development region saw an increase by 24 permits.As many as 516 building permits were issued this May for non-residential buildings (-13.9 percent as against April 2024) for a total usable floor area of 260,154 sqm (-57.2 percent). Compared to the previous month, the usable floor area covered by the non-residential building permits issued in May was by 347,246 sqm smaller, with the decline distributed by development regions as follows: Bucharest-Ilfov (-279,645 sqm), North-East (-52,856 sqm), North-West (-39,980 sqm), South-West Oltenia (-15,868 sqm), and South-East (-3,650 sqm). Increases were registered in the West (+27,973 sqm), Center (+13,685 sqm) and South-Muntenia (+3,095 sqm) development regions.A year-on-year comparison reveals an overall decrease in both the number of residential building permits issued this May (-11.6 percent), and in the total usable floor area (-7.3 percent), with the following distribution by development regions: North-West (-106 permits), North-East (-104), West (-44), South-East (-39), Center (-37), Bucharest-Ilfov (-33), South-West Oltenia (-24), and South-Muntenia (-12).Compared to May 2023, in May 2024 there was a decrease in both the number of issued non-residential building permits (-20.1 percent), and the total usable floor area (-24.3 percent).The breakdown of the year-over-year decline in the usable floor area covered by non-residential building permits (-83,444 sqm) is as follows: South-Muntenia (-53,998 sqm), West (-38,919 sqm), Bucharest-Ilfov (-8,466 sqm), North-East (-5,359 sqm) and South-West Oltenia (-1,944 sqm). The development regions to record a rise in the non-residential usable floor area were Center (+17,829 sqm), South-East (+5,983 sqm), and North-West (+1,430 sqm).
Romanian-born actor Sebastian Stan has been nominated in the category of "Best Actor in a Leading Role" for his performance in the film The Apprentice at the 2025 BAFTA Awards. Stan portrays Donald Trump in The Apprentice, focusing on the early years Trump spent in New York. The film depicts a young Trump as an emotional […]
Romanian authorities in coordination with the European Commission participated on Wednesday, January 15, in the urgent medical evacuation operation of 12 Palestinian patients from the Gaza Strip, along with 35 family members. Those evacuated are severely affected by the lack of access to adequate medical treatment. The operation was carried out with the involvement of […]
Romania’s state railway operator CFR Călători will receive 12 new electric trains, which will connect Bucharest with the largest cities in the country’s eastern counties. The trains, part of a contract with the Railway Reform Authority, or ARF, will connect Bucharest North station to Suceava, Iași, Galați, as well as Iași to Cluj-Napoca. According to […]
In a decision adopted in its Thursday meeting, the Romanian government approved May 4, 2025, as the new date for the first round of the presidential elections. The second round should thus be held on May 18, as agreed by the ruling coalition leaders last week. "Two government decisions and an emergency ordinance have been […]
Most of the excavation for the first tunnel built on a highway in Romania has been completed, and traffic could potentially be opened by the end of this year between Tigveni and Bucharest, a section of the Sibiu-Pitești highway. Romanian state officials noted construction work at Section 4 (Tigveni - Curtea de Argeș) of the […]
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, or EBRD, invested EUR 707 million in 44 projects in Romania in 2024 to support the country’s green transition, a sharp increase compared to the previous year, when it invested EUR 658 million spread over 23 projects. EBRD cooperates with private corporations, equity funds, banks, as well as local […]
