February 13 (SeeNews) - The European Commission (EC) said on Wednesday it has approved the allocation of 517 million euro ($583 million) for the construction of a 6 km line section that will link 1 Mai area to shopping complex Baneasa in Bucharest.
The project envisages the construction of six new underground subway stations between the 1 Mai area and the Baneasa shopping complex - where the Tokyo station will be located - as well as the purchase of twelve metro liners, each with six wagons, the EC said in a press release.
The section is part of the 14 km line that will link the capital city with the Henri Coanda International Airport in Otopeni, for which the EC approved a total allocation of 1.39 billion euro in September.
The section will also ensure connection to the M4 Metro Line.
"The inhabitants of the capital of Romania will arrive much faster in the northern part of Bucharest thanks to an investment of over half a billion euro from the Cohesion Fund. This project will concretely improve the day-to-day life of the 1.8 million inhabitants of Bucharest, who will benefit from better urban transport services," European commissioner for regional policy, Corina Cretu, said.
"I hope that by 2023 - the deadline for the implementation of the project that we have approved today - Romanian authorities will find solutions for the completion of the M6 line so that it will possible to circulate on the new subway line from 1 Mai to International Airport Otopeni."
Works for the M6 subway section 1 Mai - Tokyo are scheduled to begin in the second half of this year.
($ = 0.8863 euro)