EXCLUSIVE The Port of Constanța has used unauthorized or partly falsified documents in the EU funding application for a truck parking lot/ The project, estimated at 50 million euros

The Port of Constanța has used documents containing false information or not endorsed by the specialized committees of the institution for the application for European funding of the 50 million euro project to develop the truck parking lot on the A4. The investment, which was to be completed according to the Master Plan by 2017, is expected to cost five times more than originally planned, according to documents consulted by Info Sud-Est and G4Media. Half of the cost will be borne by the Romanian state.

• From previous episodes: Read at the end of the article, in the main sequences, how this key project for the Port of Constanța has been delayed for the last 10 years, especially in the context of the Russian invasion.

Planning certificate with „material errors”

The National Company Administration of Maritime Ports Constanta (CN APMC), which manages the Port of Constanța, used a document with false information, with knowledge of this, in the application for European funding for the parking lot, according to information obtaine by Info Sud-Est and G4Media, later confirmed by representatives of the Port, but also by the designer.

The document with false information is the urban planning certificate issued by the Agigea Town Hall and signed by Mayor Cristian Cîrjaliu, an influential and controversial local PSD leader, indicted by DNA Constanța for misuse of his official authorities.

• Note: The urban planning certificate was issued specifically for the truck parking lot project, which includes future expropriations. However, the certificate states that the land has already been expropriated, which is false. Another problem with the certificate is that the land is listed as being intended for ‘courtyard buildings’, but in the Romanian land register, in the Romanian state’s records, it is listed as ‘arable land’. The urban planning certificate is one of the most important documents in an investment project because, based on it, expropriations are made, technical studies are drawn up, approvals are obtained (e.g. Environment, Culture, etc.), cost estimates are made, etc. See here the urban planning certificate issued by the Agigea Town Hall.

The investment is expected to cost 50 million euro, 5 times more than originally planned, almost a year and a half ago, mainly because of the change of the original land for another one over which the real estate interests of influential local PSD politicians are hovering, according to Info Sud-Est sources. DNA Constanta has been investigating the swap of the two plots of land for several months. More details here.

• Mayor Cristian Cîrjaliu could not be contacted by ISE/G4Media reporters.

The port authorities’ version

According to the documents consulted by ISE, the submitted application for funding was accepted, on behalf of the Port of Constanța, by the head of the Port Community department, Cristina Rizea, former MP PLUS/USR/REPER, current PSD member, and by the commercial director George Vișan who was replacing the general director of the Port, Mihai Teodorescu, at the time of the application.

• George Vișan, close to the Mazăre-Constantinescu administration, but also to the current PSD Constanța leadership (Stroe-Dumitrache) was detained in the DNA case regarding bribery in the Port of Constanța, being accused of taking bribes. He is currently under judicial control. See details here.

Cristina Rizea was aware of the false information in the urban planning certificate on the basis of which all other documents and specialized opinions were issued, but nevertheless she undertook to submit the application for €20 million (out of a total of almost €50 million) to the EU.

In an official reply to ISE and G4Media, signed by Cristina Rizea, CN APMC confirms that it was aware of the „material errors” in the document and says that it asked Agigea City Hall to send a new certificate, with corrected information and with an extension of validity. The company also says that the municipality has extended the validity of the certificate, but has not corrected the „errors”.

On the other hand, the company Aduro, the designer of the investment, claims in a reply to ISE that, in fact, the Agigea City Hall did not respond at all to the request of the Port of Constanța:

• „(…) From the information that we currently have, we inform you that the Contracting Authority has contacted the issuing Institution (Agigea City Hall) of the Urban Planning Certificate, informing them of this aspect, but they have not received any official response”.

Aduro recalls that one of the „material errors” in the certificate refers to the economic regime of the land. ISE has shown in a previous investigation how the Agigea City Hall issued the urban planning certificate for „building yards”, although the land for the future parking lot was listed in the Cadastral Register as „arable”, which implies a much lower market value for future expropriations. Read the full investigation here.

Asked who signed the documents in the application file for this project, Cristina Rizea did not provide the names of the persons and functions, as requested, but instead nominated the institutions involved in the financing process.

Moreover, when answering, the part of the journalists’ question in which they require to know the names and positions of the people involved in submitting the funding application was removed. Asked afterwards whether she and Vișan had taken responsibility for the submission of the funding application, Rizea denied her involvement.

Contacted for a point of view, George Vișan asked ISE reporters „to contact the company’s public relations office”.

We asked the management of the Port of Constanța why it had knowingly submitted an application for European funding on the basis of an urban planning certificate containing false information.

The institution’s press office said it could not provide further information about the parking lot because of a DNA investigation:

„CN Sea Ports Administration SA Constanța cannot provide further information on the project „Secure parking with parking facilities in the vicinity of the A4 highway access”, as it is the subject of an ongoing investigation at the National Anticorruption Directorate”.

The designer’s version

On the other hand, Aduro representatives stated that after the submission of the grant application there is „the possibility to revise/update all the approvals (including the Certificate of Urban Planning)”.

The designer also claims to have brought to the attention of the Port of Constanța the fact that there are problems in the Urban Planning Certificate, but without specifying when it did so:

• „Our company has informed the Beneficiary/Contracting Authority in a written address about the entries in the respective Urban Planning Certificate regarding the Economic Regime of the land”.

Note: Although the urban planning certificate with false information was issued on the 11th of January, 2024, the Port of Constanța did not ask the Agigea City Hall to rectify the „material errors” until a year later, after the ISE investigation showing that the certificate contained false information. Read the full investigation here.

Feasibility study still unfinished after more than 2 years

In addition to the urban planning certificate with false information, the Port of Constanta submitted the application for funding without having a completed and approved feasibility study.

The feasibility study, started more than two years ago, was sent twice to the company that prepared it to be redone, after the specialized committees of the Port of Constanta raised objections regarding the general estimate and other aspects. To this day, the study hasn’t been finalized and approved.

Asked by journalists how much it will cost in the end to refurbish the parking lot, the Port of Constanța said in an answer signed by Cristina Rizea that the estimated value has not been approved by the institution’s specialized technical commission:

• „We mention that this value has not been previously approved by the Technical-Economic Commission (CTE) of CN APM SA, because the CEF funding program does not impose this obligation at the time of submission of the funding application, the deadline being fixed. The final estimated value of the project will be approved during the approval of the documentation by the CTE of CN APM SA. If there are significant changes to the project (including the estimated value) between the version approved by the ETC and the version submitted for financing, these will be officially communicated to the project’s funder and co-financier”. Read here the full response of the Port of Constanța.

• Read also „EXCLUSIVE The truck parking lot in the Port of Constanta is expected to cost the EU and the Romanian state €50 million, 5 times more than last year’s estimates„

Public investment specialists and experts in accessing EU funds: „God forbid!”

Several experts in accessing European funds and public investment specialists told Info Sud-Est and G4Media that such practices used to take place a long time ago, when the EU had less strict rules on funding documentation, but things have changed in the meantime.

„God forbid!”, „They did <>”, „It’s mind-boggling”, are some of the reactions of the specialists consulted:

• „When you submit a documentation for a permit, it must be based on an urban planning certificate (…) The urban planning certificate is not changed except by restarting the procedure and submitting another documentation. The whole procedure can take up to two years”, said the public investment specialist consulted by ISE.

Specialists argue that in the situation presented by the ISE it is all the more complicated because rectifying the „material error” in the urban planning certificate also involves changing the economic indicators and the cost of expropriation (the land would change from „building yards” to „arable”, editor’s note), in addition to simply resuming the opinions, technical studies, etc.

Another EU funds expert claims that such practices were more likely to have been possible 15 years ago, when beneficiaries rushed to submit projects for funding and then had to „sort out the necessary permits and documents on the fly”. In short, „a Romanian approach”, says the expert:

• „When submitting an application for EU funding you must have the feasibility study and all the documentation complete and approved. Many years ago, you used to see this kind of practice, where beneficiaries rushed to apply for funding ‘on the spur of the moment’ so as not to miss the call for projects, but then ran into big problems because they had to get the missing opinions or documents. The EU has wisened up and has more stringent rules on documentation and puts more emphasis on applications that have all the necessary documents. The situation that you have presented shows that the beneficiary has done ‘a Romanian move’, as they used to do in the old days,” said the EU funds specialist consulted by ISE and G4Media.