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Hollywood finds production paradise in Romania

With its rock-bottom prices, spectacular scenery and mesmerising medieval villages, US movie producers are flocking to make movies in Romania…

Until recently, Romania was known to the world mainly as home to the legend of Count Dracula, whose birthplace is said to have been in the province of Transylvania.

But the country's recent willingness to welcome the Western film industry means it’s time to forget about scary vampire stories.

Major Hollywood productions are now being made in Romania, featuring stars like Nicole Kidman, Wesley Snipes, Donald Sutherland and Armand Assante.

US film studios prefer to shoot films in Romania rather than in the States or elsewhere in Europe thanks to the country's low costs and beautiful, unspoiled landscapes.

Producers can also employ extras in Romania for far less money than they would pay their counterparts back in the US.

City Hall's projects to fulfill Bucharest's European destiny

City Hall's objective for the next four years is to initiate a large number of infrastructure, transport, and environment projects aimed at upgrading the capital.

Parking systems
City Hall plans to build 22 underground parking structures in Bucharest in the next two to four years, creating 1,500 to 3,000 parking spaces in downtown areas like Athenaeum Square (Piata Ateneului), Revolution Square (Piata Revolutiei), Free Press House Square (Piata Casei Presei Libere), and Obor Square (Piata Obor).

Street renovations
The project aimed at rehabilitating the streets in Bucharest will be carried out in two phases. During the first stage, 60 streets will be repairedThe second phase aims at repairing about 1,500 streets in Bucharest at an estimated cost of 450 million euros and with funds probably taken from the European Bank for Development and Reconstruction.

Venus Center (Splai Center)
Initially called the Dambovita Center, this project is a real estate development with residential, commercial, cultural and financial functions. Built near Independence Boulevard (Splaiul Independentei), the project will need an investment of about 350 million euros.

Bucharest's financial center, close to the Palace of Parliament
The Izvor project is aimed at refurbishing the area around the Palace of Parliament and to create a financial city center for Bucharest. City Hall will develop here a strong urban pole, with commercial, cultural, multi-media and office functions. The whole assembly will comprise of four different zones and will be crossed by a 1.5 kilometer boulevard, which will relieve the traffic in the area and will likely be called Uranus Boulevard.

Bucharest old center to be revitalized

The 9.5 million euros project is only the beginning of a larger plan that will be completed within three to five years, said the head of the Transport, Roads and Traffic Systematization Department inside the city hall.The first phase of the project, financed by funds from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, will be ready towards the middle of 2007, but future works in the area will continue for the next five years. When the project is complete, the historical center will be proud to present its renovated buildings, repaired streets, new water and gas pipes, better parking lots and more shops, bars and restaurants. It will all become part of Bucharest’s own Latin District.

The undergroung city of 1000 trees

One of the most important cultural assemblies inBucharest, Revolution Square, hosting the Palace Hall (SalaPalatului) and the Royal Palace, will be revitalized throughanother new project of City Hall.The 200-million euro project will include undergroundparking structures on three or four levels with up to 4,500parking spaces, said one of the project's authors, architectViorel Hurduc, the head of the Hax architectural designcompany.
The project aims at building three cratered squares,each eight meters below the surface of the ground, whereartistic events, meetings, and leisure activities will takeplace. Moreover, the complex will include six-storybuildings hosting cultural, multimedia, and informationalactivities.More than half of the area's surface is made of concrete,the project will be divided by planting trees.

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