The Dobresti local administration is preparing to turn Lake Vida - one of Romania's most spectacular and unique lakes - into a regional hub for active and sustainable rural tourism, through a project estimated at four million euros, following the completion of complex desilting works.

Dobresti mayor Florin Copos recently told AGERPRES that the local authorities have already taken the first steps toward developing the area for tourism.

'We began desilting the lake last year, because you can't start building a house from the roof down. The cleaning and even expansion works were completed before the winter holidays, and we recently submitted to the North-West Regional Development Agency the funding request for the technical-economic documentation needed to access funds available starting in 2028. We want to establish the Vida Lake leisure area, with an arrangement of around 10,000 square meters, a project worth four million euros,' the mayor said.

Photo credit: Eugenia Pasca / AGERPRES

The intervention aims to highlight the spectacular character of the lake, with its dam and circular spillway - unique in Romania - and the direct relationship between water, forest and naturally shaped terrain. The project will reinforce the site's identity through discreet, landscape-integrated development focused on visitor experience. Natural materials and lightweight construction solutions will be used to protect the ecosystem and blend the tourism infrastructure into the surroundings.

Covering nearly six hectares and surrounded by forests and tranquility, Lake Vida is a rock-fill dam built in 1967 to serve the former bauxite mines in the area. To discharge excess water, it was equipped with a funnel-shaped overflow - known locally as the 'whirlpool' - which has become the lake's main curiosity and attraction.

Photo credit: Dobresti City Hall

The plan envisions transforming the lake into a year-round leisure infrastructure for families, active tourists, anglers, school groups and visitors interested in nature and slow tourism. The main access area would include a multifunctional wooden pontoon for pedal boats and rowboats, as well as swimming zones delimited by floating systems.

The project also includes water slides, a zipline across the lake, a wooden promenade around the water, fishing huts inspired by local architecture, natural beach areas, pavilions and viewing platforms. An educational trail dedicated to the lake's formation and local biodiversity will be created, along with a slow-tourism circuit for cycling and running, connected to existing routes in the Padurea Craiului area.

Auxiliary buildings, such as restrooms and a small tourist information center, will be built to high energy-efficiency standards, with photovoltaic systems and efficient ventilation solutions.

'Through this intervention, Lake Vida will become a regional landmark for sustainable rural tourism, capable of extending visitor stays, stimulating the local economy through related services, and creating a balanced relationship between the community and the landscape,' the project description states.

The tourism development follows the completion of a major desilting project carried out over roughly eight months and considered one of the most technically challenging of its kind. The works were financed through a 14.5-million-lei EU-funded project, part of a larger 36.5-million-lei initiative implemented by the Bihor County Council in partnership with the National Agency for Protected Natural Areas (lead partner) and the communes of Dobresti, Vadu Crisului, Bratca and Suncuius.

Photo credit: Eugenia Pasca / AGERPRES

Daniel Fortiu, administrator of Vest Build (the lead contractor), told AGERPRES that the works required excavating massive quantities of sediment - up to 300,000 cubic meters - using specialized equipment, including three amphibious excavators, ten long-boom excavators and around ten special dump trucks for transporting sludge.

The extracted material was deposited on a 2.5-hectare site provided by the local authorities for a future forest, where a 700-meter rock-fill protection dike was also built to prevent sediment from flowing back into the lake.

The works also visibly changed the lake's size: previously about 500 meters long, it now stretches roughly one kilometer after being extended by another 500 meters through excavation.

The intervention also included infrastructure works such as building a 1.9-kilometer access road to the camping area, constructing four culverts, and stabilizing about 400 meters of shoreline with gabions to prevent erosion.

Photo credit: Eugenia Pasca / AGERPRES

'It was a very difficult job, both technically and because of the terrain conditions. The project required bringing in three amphibious excavators from other counties, specifically from the Bucharest area, using special transport. We are not wealthy enough to buy such equipment - one costs 600,000 euros - and we wouldn't have much use for them. They're mostly used in the Danube Delta or on irrigation canals,' Daniel Fortiu explained.

According to mayor Florin Copos, overall, the Lake Vida project is considered an important investment both for environmental protection and for the tourism development of the area. AGERPRES (RO - writing by: Eugenia Pasca; EN - writing by: Simona Klodnischi)