Work to secure the apartment building in Rahova affected by the explosion will take approximately 50 days, announced the Capital's General Mayor, Ciprian Ciucu.

'So far, water, electricity, and internet connections have been established, and contracts with suppliers required for setting up the construction site have been signed. Like any construction project, site organization is necessary—including for the demolition activities. The site has already been handed over to the contractor, and I have issued the order to commence work. We formally accepted the technical design on July 30; however, the design entails a slight delay—estimated at about three weeks to a maximum of one month—because it requires the installation of seismic sensors in five apartment building sections (including a section from an adjacent building) as well as in the high school located near the affected building,' Ciprian Ciucu announced at a press conference on Friday.

The mayor mentioned that next week, the municipality, together with the Local Police, will launch an information campaign regarding the installation of these sensors in apartments. During this phase, all apartments will be photographed—regardless of whether or not they have cracks—to allow for the documentation of any potential future damage.

'We will go through the apartments one by one—specifically those where the sensors are to be installed—so that the company can come in within three weeks of the contract signing to inspect and photograph each individual unit—taking pictures of all the walls, regardless of whether cracks are present or not. This is to ensure we can later prove whether or not the properties—five apartment building sections and the Bolintineanu High School—have been affected in any way. This step could not have been foreseen; it is a solution mandated by the project designer that will result in a delay of up to one month—30 days. Once this procedure is complete, the actual construction work will begin, taking approximately 50 days,' said Ciprian Ciucu.

He pointed out that, after this period, the building would be secured and the residents would attempt to recover as much of their belongings as possible.

'Access to the building will be granted with the approval of the ISU, following the formal acceptance of the safety measures implemented for the structure. Prosecutors will be the first to enter, after which—under ISU coordination—individuals will be able to access the building, assisted and supervised by the ISU,' stated Mayor Ciucu.

He announced that an expert assessment would follow to determine whether the apartment building needs to be reinforced or demolished, and that the Municipality would continue to pay rent for those unable to stay in their homes during the reconstruction work. AGERPRES (RO - writing by: Iulia Carciog;EN - writing by: Catalin Cristian Trandafir)