DNA investigation into commercial warehouse built near strategic radar in Dolj
Anti-corruption prosecutors are examining how permits were issued for a logistics hall constructed in the vicinity of a military facility essential for Romania's and the North Atlantic Alliance's air defence.
DNA investigation into commercial warehouse built near strategic radar in Dolj
An investigation by the National Anti-Corruption Directorate is examining the circumstances in which a retail company received clearance to build an industrial structure in the immediate vicinity of an air surveillance facility in Dolj County, used by both national armed forces and NATO structures. The information was reported by G4Media.ro.
Four years ago, a company with German shareholders purchased approximately twenty-three hectares from the mayor of Cârcea locality and from companies under the influence of his family. The contract was conditional on obtaining the necessary certificates to launch the project. Construction began in the second half of 2021, and the metal frame of the future distribution centre had already been erected when the competent ministry flagged the issue.
At the beginning of 2022, defence representatives requested urgent cessation of works, arguing that the future warehouse, with an estimated height of twenty metres, would significantly block the waves emitted and received by the military facility, drastically reducing the detection capacity of aircraft equipment flying over the area at low altitude, especially from the south.
In spring 2022, the military institution challenged the decision permitting the construction in administrative court. During the proceedings, the parties attempted to conclude an extra-judicial agreement, through which the equipment was to be relocated to another position, with costs borne by the private investor. This proposal was endorsed by the cabinet then led by a former defence minister.
However, judges at the local court refused to validate the understanding, considering that the matter exceeded the scope of private interests. In autumn 2023, the trial court ordered the annulment of the construction permit, but the decision was overturned by the superior court in Craiova in the following spring, which ordered re-examination of the case, specifying that it must be determined whether the proposed relocation provides sufficient protection to the general interest.
A new case, opened in March 2023, is still pending before the Dolj Tribunal. In the meantime, prosecutors have launched their own investigation into how local authorities issued the documentation and into the initial agreement promoted by the ministry.
In the summer of last year, the military institution's leadership notified the court that it was definitively withdrawing from the extra-judicial agreement, citing the fact that the facility forms part of the Alliance's security architecture, and any change to its location requires approval from higher bodies in Brussels. The decision was also influenced by the deterioration in the geopolitical climate following the outbreak of armed conflict at the eastern border.
The County Council argued in its defence that the military institution had not informed the town hall of the air restrictions in force before issuing the urban planning certificate and that there is no conclusive evidence that the radar's operation was compromised.
Source: G4Media