The most awaited projects that will change the city landscape and generate numerous development opportunities are the subway, metro train, and motorway.
The first subway outside Bucharest started preparatory works this summer; effective groundbreaking shall begin at the end of the year. While emotions ran high due to the loss of NRRP partial funding following a two-year procurement and works delay, the Government and Cluj Major jointly announced a 2.2 billion EUR financing solution through another EU-funding program based on green certificates. In 2031, 19 new metro lines will connect one of the most populous metro areas (Floreasti/Gilau) to the city center, the Emerson industrial platform, and the emerging residential area Sopor. The subway capacity is up to 15,200 travellers per way per hour.
The metro train shall connect all the relevant localities, from Gilau to Bontinda, mainly covering Cluj suburbs and industrial platforms. The expected usage is up to 7,600 travellers per day; for budgeting reasons, it shall combine existing infrastructure and create new stops and park & ride facilities. The trains will run daily with a frequency of half an hour, ensuring fast access for over 17,000 inhabitants, who will be able to reach the center of Cluj in less than 30 minutes. The County Council has recently signed the construction permit and obtained the environmental permit. The total investment stands at 230 million EUR.
The metro motorway, one billion EUR investment, began works for the first lot (2 km out of 42 km) this summer. The public procurement process for the second lot (10 km) was recently relaunched, whereas there is no immediate timeline for the bidding process for the third lot (14km). The final stage of the Cluj motorway shall plug into the A3 highway, facilitating further production development.
