Nicolescu: Romanian energy sector needs annual investments of EUR 4-5 bln in next 10 years

Newsroom 09/09/2014 | 12:18

Razvan Nicolescu, delegate minister for Energy, said on Tuesday that the energy sector in Romania will need annual investment of EUR 4-5 billion every year for the next 10 years. That is an extra 5-15 billion than what he estimated , according to Mediafax.

“When I said EUR 4-5 billion, I didn’t mean new projects, I meant for the whole system, for updating transport networks, electrical energy, oil and gas, Petrom, energy production. Those 4-5 billion cover a very wide array of services, wider than just new projects”, according to the minister.

At the start of the year, Nicolscu said that the necessary annual investment fund for energy needs to be EUR 3.5 billion every year. On Tusday, the official claimed that for companies controlled by the state there are EUR 1.3 billion available for investments, EUR 450 million coming from listing Electrica. The minister says there are new projects, mentioning the Cernavoda reactors, where the state has already invested nearly EUR 1 billion.

“We need to find resources to finance this project (reactors 3 and 4). I don’t know when, if it will be 2019, or 2022, or 2023 but we do need to finish it”, according to Nicolescu.

The minister also estimated that CE Oltenia could go for an IPO in the first half of next year and Hidroelectrica in the second half.

“We will continue with these listings and we will continue to promote an image of seriousness. (…) You’ve seen, even for Electrica, how important it is to remove the politics and appoint good managers (…) Oltenia and Hidroelectrica are two companies that have a lot of potential and will generate rivalry on the capital market”, says Nicolescu.