Maybe, if they take a look around, Romanian authorities will learn from the experiences of others. And Poland, which has also faced problems with the implementation of specific infrastructure projects, is a good example. Ovidiu Oancea, analyst at the PMR Publications market research company, has given us an insight on these impediments and solutions identified in Warsaw, through an analysis between Poland and Romania.
RBT: What can you tell us about the expropriation, often accused in Romania as the main reason for delayed infrastructure projects?
O.O.: A solution that Polish authorities have found regarding expropriation is to stimulate landowners. Thus, there is a 30 to120 day period within which owners can waive the properties, but at the same time, there is also a compensation increase by 5% compared to the normal value of the property, if the issue is made within 30 days. A compensation of about 3.000 euros is also provided for relocation, within 14 days of the decision-making on investment. In our country, I think the biggest problem comes from the landowners and not from the property system, which is much more complicated and involves more parts let alone the owners. Stimulating the owners would be the best solution to accelerate expropriations which hamper infrastructure projects, because owners were not familiar with the expropriations until now. In general, most of the current infrastructure was built decades ago, when the political situation was different and people simply couldn’t oppose. Now, however, we live in a democracy and people are entitled to rights. The best solution - if one cannot understand the importance of expropriation even with the offered incentives - would be a regulation that would stipulate expropriations as a matter of national security.
