Constanta-based Casino, leased for 49 years

The Casino in Constanta has been leased for a 49-year period to Queen, a company which owns a global network of luxury casinos and is the manager of the Casa Vernescu in Bucharest, announced Radu Mazare, the mayor of Constanta. "As you know, in January 2006, the Constanta Town Hall started leasing procedures regarding the Casino. A single company attended the international, two-stage tender, announced in the press and in the Official Journal of the European Union. We then moved to direct negotiations, when it was decided that the company would pay 140,000 euro royalties per year, and would invest nine million dollars within the first five years," said Mazare. He added investments would be conducted in renovating both the interior and the general structure of the building. "Th is move was prevented from taking place by the Ministry of Culture, which declined to appoint its representative in the negotiation commission, on the grounds that there are no norms in place to this effect. However, probably fearful of a potential lawsuit, the ministry eventually delegated a representative," said Radu Mazare.