An estimated €5bn-worth of investments have been lost due to delays in road construction that had been scheduled for completion by the end of 2009. Had projects such as the Bucharest orbital been finished, the country would now have 500 kilometres of highway. In fact, just 281km have been built since 2007 – the year the country joined the EU.

One of the finished highways, the A1, has attracted some €1bn in the past few years, with investments in warehouses, production facilities, shopping malls and petrol stations.

According to Business Construct magazine, the A2 Bucharest-Consanta, had it been completed, would have encouraged similar levels of investment activity.