DARABANI, a city in a continuous process of development! Mayor Mihai-Alin GÎRBACI, on investment prospects

Ohe town of Darabani s located in the northern part of Botoșani county, being the northernmost city in Romania

Darabani is undergoing continuous development and modernization, with a strong focus on citizen orientation and community needs.

Under the leadership of Mayor Mihai-Alin Gîrbaci, the Darabani City Hall has undertaken numerous activities and projects in recent years, aiming at the city’s development objective.

Significant progress has been made in various fields in Darabani through projects completed in recent years, including infrastructure, public services, and education. For the future of Darabani, the leadership is considering projects of great interest, such as enhancing the city’s attractiveness through integrated multi-sector territorial investments and the construction of a Hospital Outpatient Clinic. These initiatives will contribute to strengthening infrastructure and public services, thereby providing opportunities for investment and economic development in the city.

Over the years, the Darabani City Hall has completed several projects aimed at supporting the city’s development objective. In this regard, name 3 projects completed in the last 4 years.

Over the past 4 years, we have continued and implemented projects funded from the previous mandate, but we have also accessed new funding, thus ensuring continuity in terms of the city’s sustainable development. The most important projects completed in the last 4 years are:

• Expansion and modernization of Kindergarten No. 5, a project funded through PNDL II, with a funding of 2,770,190 lei, completed in March 2022, which involved the rehabilitation of the kindergarten building, furnishing with furniture, and didactic materials.
• Rehabilitation and modernization of streets affected by damages caused by calamities, a project worth 8,489,400 lei, funded through the National Program for Construction of Public or Social Interest, Subprogram “Works in First Urgency” carried out through CNI, completed on 17.05.2022. Through this project, 10.4 kilometers of streets aff ected by extreme weather phenomena were paved, thus solving a series of traffic problems within the locality.
• Revitalization of the urban space in Darabani city through the conversion and refunctionalization of unused and degraded land and spaces. Value: 5,123,323 lei, funded through POR 2014-2020, completed on 11.07.2022. Through the investment made, the green space area in Darabani city has expanded by 10,310 square meters.

What are the projects currently being implemented, and what are the objectives you aim to achieve through their completion?

Currently, we have a significant number of projects underway at the city level, accessed from 2020 to the present, in various stages of execution or preparation of necessary documentation (design, tendering for works, etc.). The most important ones are:

• Expansion, modernization, and equipping of “Dimitrie Cantemir” High School, Darabani city, Botoșani county. Value: 34,695,876.88 lei, funded through PNDL II, currently in implementation. Construction of social housing, Darabani city, Botoșani county. Value: 7,287,536.82 lei, funded through the Housing Program, currently in implementation – physical stage 86.2%. A 5-story building is being constructed with 16 apartments, which will become social housing.
• Expansion of the household sewage system and realization of connections in UAT Darabani, Botoșani county. Value: 23,526,990 lei, funded through PNRR C1 (project declared eligible).
• Modernization of local interest streets, Darabani city, Botoșani county. Value: 37,162,143 lei, funded through the “Anghel Saligny” Program (signed funding contract). The project will modernize streets over a total length of 18.44 km. located within and outside the Darabani city limits (connecting with the village of Lișmănița).
• Rehabilitation and restoration of the Historical Monument Balș House. Value: 19,600,000 lei (4,000,000 euros), funded through the National Investment Company (site handed over, technical-economic commission approval from MDLPA).
• Construction and equipping of a Day Center for children at risk of separation from parents in Darabani City, Botoșani county. Value: 2,550,069.41 lei, funded through PNRR C13, local budget (under implementation, works procurement). It is proposed to build a day center for children at risk of family separation, aged 3-16.
• Providing care services tailored to the needs of vulnerable elderly people by building and operationalizing a day center in Darabani City, Botoșani county. Value: 7,462,056.07 lei, funded through PNRR C13, local budget (under works procurement procedure). This investment involves building a facility with the necessary installations, arrangements, and equipment.
• Construction of a small nursery, School Street no. 37, in Darabani city, Botoșani county. Value: 9,300,000 lei, funded through CNI (awarded execution contract).
• Construction of youth rental housing, Darabani city, Botoșani county, Fragilor Street, no. 2, Stage II. Value: 10,245,036 lei, funded by ANL (awarded execution contract). It is proposed to build an ANL-type residential block with a height regime of G+4 floors.
• Administrative building for the Volunteer Service and Training Center for Emergency Situations of Darabani City, Botoșani county. Value: 5,458,028 lei, funded by MDLPA, INTERREG Romania-Moldova Program (application submitted in February 2024).

What are the investment objectives you have in mind for the future in Darabani city?

The most important investment objective in the immediate future is a project called “Increasing the attractiveness of Darabani city through integrated territorial multisectoral investments aiming at urban regeneration and revitalization.” This project aims at restoring St. Nicholas Church (the restoration component), while the urban regeneration components include:

• redesigning/rehabilitating the pedestrian area on Market Street,
• remodeling the agro-food market, pedestrianizing Theodor Balș Street (to facilitate access to the historical monuments Balș House and the First School),
• adapting the “Theodor Balș” Cultural House in Darabani for events,
• redesigning the sports ground between the blocks in front of the City Hall.

Value: 34,300,000 lei (7,000,000 euros), funding through the North-East Regional Program, Priority 7, local budget, state budget. The project focuses on the urban regeneration of the city’s central area, complementing all urban mobility and infrastructure improvement projects.

The project is in the stage of preparing the funding application.

Another important project, which is in the preparation stage for funding application submission, is the construction of a Hospital Outpatient Clinic. Value: 19,600,000 lei, project funded by the Ministry of Health through the Health Program. We aim to build a modern outpatient clinic from scratch, where quality medical services can be provided.

What investment opportunities does the locality you administer offer?

Despite its seemingly disadvantageous geographical position, Darabani city offers investment opportunities. In this regard, we even consider establishing an industrial park connected to utilities, where interested entrepreneurs can conduct their activities.

Another asset of our area is the existence of a workforce, mostly skilled or undergoing training at “Dimitrie Cantemir” High School, which offers educational programs in technological fields such as textile industry, me-chanics, food industry, mechanics, and agriculture.

Through the investments made to modernize the locality, we aim to attract investors to whom we can offer the best conditions for conducting business. Development is slower in the absence of this component of a small urban locality’s economy, such as Darabani city.