The old Tinca Baths, recently purchased by Cociuba Mare commune, and Lake Carasau, located 15 kilometres away, could become the two main attractions of a new tourist hub in southeastern Bihor in the coming years.

The Cociuba Mare administration is betting on a dual project it considers complementary: recovery and wellness at Tinca Baths, and leisure and nature at Lake Carasau.

Mayor Mihai Sferle told AGERPRES on Wednesday that the strategy 'goes beyond the administrative borders of the commune'. Last year, Cociuba Mare, through its local management company, bought the former Tinca Baths complex for EUR 2 million from an American citizen of Romanian origin.

'Tinca Baths are not just a former spa complex, but a resort with over 140 years of tradition, one of the oldest in western Romania, which we want to bring back to life,' the mayor said. 'We purchased the entire property, so Cociuba Mare is now the owner of Tinca Baths.'

The complex covers 11 hectares and includes two hotels, a treatment base, a restaurant, an outdoor pool and a dendrological garden. One hotel is operational, and the treatment base still serves beneficiaries of the Pension Office.

The commune is preparing a EUR 15 million project to transform the site into a modern wellness and recovery centre, with upgraded four-star hotels, thermal pools, themed saunas, hydromassage areas, relaxation spaces in the dendrological garden, a renovated treatment base, a conference hall and sports facilities.

Funding is not yet secured, and Sferle says the commune is analysing available financing lines, including the North-West Regional Programme and national tourism funds.

In parallel, the administration is finalising the technical project for a EUR 6 million EU-funded investment at Lake Carasau, with works expected to begin in about a month.

'We have the approved project for the leisure area at Lake Carasau, an 18-hectare water surface, worth EUR 6 million. We expect to start works within a month,' the mayor said.

By June 2028, the lake will have a 2.3-km illuminated promenade, a restaurant with terrace, a landscaped beach, a floating pontoon with sunbeds, playgrounds and rest areas. The commune also plans to build ten A-frame tourist cabins, each with an outdoor jacuzzi.

For Cociuba Mare, the two investments form a single strategy - a combined tourism package.

'Our goal is to create a tourist hub where Lake Carasau and Tinca Baths, about 15 kilometres apart, complement each other. We want a complete package: Tinca Baths for health, recovery and wellness, and Lake Carasau for leisure, fishing and nature education,' Sferle said.

Future plans include a small-animal zoo (estimated at EUR 4 million) and an adventure park in a nearby 400-hectare forest. The commune also envisions cooperation with neighbouring Tinca to build a cycling path connecting the two sites.

If funding is secured, the commune in the Crisuri Plain could become one of Bihor County's most ambitious examples of local tourism development, combining balneary resources with leisure and nature tourism. AGERPRES (RO - writing by: Eugenia Pasca; EN - writing by: Simona Klodnischi)