The City Hall of Baia Mare is counting on the conclusion of a public-private partnership with Chinese companies in the immediate future, Mayor Doru Dancus announced on Thursday in a social media post.

The mayor pointed out that his expectation comes after the visit of the ambassador of the People's Republic of China to Romania, Chen Feng, who was in Maramure County for three days earlier this week.

'We talked about the opening of Baia Mare to the world, to the west, by belonging to the Eurocities network, one of the most important forums that brings together the 200 most influential European cities, but also to the east, through the solid relations we have built with the institutions and authorities of the People's Republic of China. We are a city open to dialogue and knowledge, which wants to turn these partnerships into concrete investments. That is why I was very direct in my discussion with His Excellency: my personal stake is to conclude at least a public-private partnership with companies that come to invest in Baia Mare,' Dancus said in his post.

The mayor of Baia Mare explained to the Chinese diplomat that the city has old industrial sites that can be easily transformed and adapted into production bases.

'Baia Mare has long been known as a mono-industrial city (focused on non-ferrous mining, metallurgy, geology and timber exploitation), but it is precisely this history that opens up new perspectives today. Land, spaces and buildings in which the old industry functioned and which are abandoned today can be transformed and repurposed as productive businesses of added value. A concrete example is the Romplumb platform, acquired by a company with Chinese shareholders, which opens an important precedent. We are also interested in partners who invest in infrastructure, especially in above-ground or underground parking lots, where there is a real and urgent need, but especially in innovative industries, digitalisation and everything that smart city enatails,' said Dancus.

He underlined in his discussions with the Chinese ambassador the geographical position of the city, and also of Maramures County, in the vicinity of Hungary and Ukraine, but also of important road and air corridors.

'I underlined something that I consider a strategic advantage that Baia Mare and Maramures do not capitalise on enough, namely geographical position. As His Excellency himself pointed out, we are an open door to Western Europe and, implicitly, to the reconstruction of Ukraine, and that is a huge opportunity for companies that want to be present in this region.'

The Chinese diplomat noted the history and deep culture of Maramures, the richness of natural resources, the vitality and dynamics of the city, the attention paid to the infrastructure and the strategic development agenda, the favourable business environment, as well as the real opportunities that deserve to be exploited jointly.

The City Hall of Baia Mare is carrying out urban infrastructure projects in different stages of construction, amounting to RON 1.5 billion.

Also, Baia Mare is currently the 16th county seat in Romania in terms of population, with approximately 130,000 inhabitants and ranks 13th in terms of quality of life, according to the latest specialised research.

At the level of Maramures County, the local business community provides a bridge to Chinese companies, but also to Romania through the local branch of the Romania-China Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

At the same time, the economic representation is involved annually in supporting cultural or sports events at community level. AGERPRES (RO - editing by: Leontin Cupar; EN - writing by: Corneliu-Aurelian Colceriu)