Gov't approves 188 million lei for investment in Romanian Academy historic headquarters

At a sitting on Wednesday, the government passed technical and economic indicators for the refurbishment, consolidation, modernisation, extension and equipping of the historical headquarters of the Romanian Academy and for the construction of a new hall under an investment project worth 188 million lei, agerpres reports.

According to a press statement released by the Ministry of Development, Public Works and Administration (MDLPA), the investment is designed to turn the Romanian Academy into a historic building with the purpose of a museum that lives up to the European standards required of museums in the great capitals of the world.

"The headquarters of the Romanian Academy in Bucharest is currently located in a building built between 1911 and 1923 and consolidated and refurbished between 2007 and 2008, being listed as class one seismic risk building. Given the circumstances, the investment entails adding new walls made of reinforced concrete, coating certain existing masonry walls, replacing existing wooden floors with reinforced concrete floors. In addition to modernising and refurbishing the existing building, a new structure is being suggested to extend it."

The newly built hall will be an extension of the existing building covering 8,500 square metres and housing the 14 sections of the Academy, offices, as well as conference rooms and reception and function areas.

"The project requires an investment of 188 million lei and would be developed in four stages. Of this money, 187 million lei will come from the Ministry of Development, through the National Investment Company, and the Romanian Academy comes with a contribution of 833,000 lei," according to MDLPA.

Upon completion, the buildings of the Romanian Academy will have a total built-up area of 14,600 square metres.

The estimated project duration is 30 months.

The existing building, the historical headquarters of the Romanian Academy, was added in 2015 on the List of Historical Monuments of the Ministry of Culture/National Heritage Institute.