Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Radu Berceanu of Romania

The government plans to open 200 km of motorway per year during 2008-2018 to upgrade Romania's transportation system, Romania's Minister of Transports, Construction and Tourism Radu Berceanu said on Wednesday.

For the new motorways, "we also need to use funds coming from other sources, such as commercial credits and a public-private partnership system," Berceanu said in an interview published by the local daily Gandul.

Transport Minister Radu Berceanu is the owner of two flats in Craiova and Ramnicu Valcea, also an apartment in Spain.

Berceanu has two cars (Toyota RAV 4 and Mercedes S 500.

A few days before, Berceanu had stated the he would check if the companies that won multi-annual desnowing contracts are doing their job.

The head of the Dolj branch of the Democratic Party (PD), Radu Berceanu said his resignation as vice-president of the PD was due to some of his colleagues' attempts to make him a scapegoat for the results of the party in the general elections last year.

Berceanu said he hoped Romania would be able to offset business losses through improved economic ties with Yugoslavia.

During the past three months as Transports minister, Radu Berceanu has not had many good words for the works done by the US-based Bechtel Company at the Transilvania Motorway.

While in Targu Mures, earlier this month, Berceanu said he was unhappy about Bechtel, as works are not conducted at the pace pledged, adding the company is liable of sanctions unless it sticks by execution deadlines, to the point of the contract being terminated.

Berceanu said that there are “a lot of agencies subordinated to the Chancellery of the Prime Minister, without any acceptable explanation.

In other news Tuesday, new Romanian Transport Minister Radu Berceanu said he plans to dismiss all 24 managers of the ministry's departments and subordinate agencies due to their high salaries.