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Valeriu Tabara: Siret - Baragan Canal to be built in public-private partnership
The Siret - Baragan Canal is a far-reaching investment, achievable by the partnership between the State and big companies, and it will irrigate about half-a-million hectares of the Romanian Plain, and spare 40-60 percent of energy, Agriculture Minister Valeriu Tabara told Agerpres.
'The Siret - Baragan Canal is a far-reaching investment, covering 190 km, and it is worth 3.4 million euros, with extraordinary influences in the entire central and eastern areas of the Romanian Plain, in terms of the crops stability, the rural development, as well as of non-farming sectors, and it will be achieved through the partnership between the state and big companies,' said Minister Tabara.
He also stressed that the energy costs will be cut by round 40-60 percent, because the future irrigation systems will preponderantly carry the water by the force of gravity and less by pumping.
'Even if the start was of low hope, there are already four big companies and banking consortia interested in taking over part of the investment. The Foreign Investors Council in Romania and the state authorities, are also keen on the Project, President Basescu presenting it during a meeting with the business people, in London,' Agriculture Minister Valeriu Tabara added.
Agriculture Minister pointed out that the work is 'an objective of key importance for Romania, in the future, because any stable agriculture production is out of question without the water source which can be made use of, at moments similar to the present ones.'
The Siret - Baragan Canal's costs are expected to total 3.6 billion euros, assessed at the level of the year 2003, and they also include the irrigation systems.
The canal's building works, only are expected to amount to almost 802 million euros, whereas the irrigation systems are expected to cost more 2.8 billion euros.
According to Agriculture Minister Valeriu Tabara's figures, the Siret - Baragan Canal, will supply, without pumping, the water to irrigate the fields located on the left bank, namely about 80 percent of the crops, of the existing reservoirs, and the electricity they require, will be two or four times less than that used for the already irrigated fields.
The Siret - Baragan Canal Project was approved in 1986 and the works at the first segment started in 1987, and it was planned to be 50 km long. The first segment was located in Vrancea County (east), and it was to supply water for irrigating 154,283 ha. The Segment II of the Project's second stage was designed to be 140 km long and to run over the territory of counties such as Vrancea, Braila, Buzau and Ialomita, and was to be approved after the first segment were done.
The Project started before 1989, and about 11 km of it have been already built, so far, and about 350 million euros is needed to finish the 50 km of the first segment.