Almost 200,000 square meters of land will be ecologically rehabilitated and given back to Bucharest by Petrom based on an investment of approximately EUR 10 million.
When the project is finalized, the soil will become fertile again and the phreatic water will become biologically and chemically compliant with the ecological parameters accepted in Romania. The ecological rehabilitation process will also bring environmental parameters within normal range for the neighboring areas – the village and lake of Straulesti.
The Petrom initiative is the first ecological rehabilitation project of such breadth and complexity ever implemented in Romania and will unfold over a three-year period.
Located in the north of the capital, the land plot to be rehabilitated houses a former oil storage facility. Following the bombardments during the Second World War, the storage tanks were damaged which caused the pollution of the soil in specific areas.
"The size of the project is a clear indication of its importance. More than 100,000 cubic meters of soil will be uncovered and more than 3 million cubic meters of phreatic water will be extracted and purified. The technologies to be used are internationally recognized and will be employed in cooperation with specialized companies from Austria and Germany", stated Petrom CEO Mariana Gheorghe.
The soil rehabilitation will consist of the excavation and mechanical, chemical and biological treatment of approximately 100,000 cubic meters of soil. Then the soil is put back on the entire surface, in a 65 cm layer.
The phreatic water will be extracted – around 3 million cubic meters during the entire period of time – cleansed, re-injected, treated with microorganisms and submitted to a barbotage process by air pumping.