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Above the roofs of central Cluj-Napoca: a baroque bell tower on the left and the Gothic tower of St Michael's Church on the right, with domes, houses and the hills around the city behind

Romania

Cluj-Napoca

Photo: olgamarc, Depositphotos editorial licence, Depositphotos

Cluj-Napoca has finished the first section of its metropolitan ring road and the Borhanci high school, started rebuilding the Garibaldi bridge and is testing EU-backed neighbourhood regeneration in Iris.

Updated · Checked against official sources

  • Population

    286,598

    2021 census, provisional results

  • Mayor

    Emil Boc

  • EU programmes

    5

Latest

  1. Civic participation ·

    Cluj-Napoca gives 15 schools 25,000 lei each for pupil-chosen projects

    Cluj-Napoca has extended its Com'ON School participatory budgeting programme to 15 schools, where more than 2,700 pupils will propose projects and vote online on 26 November, with each school receiving 25,000 lei, or 375,000 lei in total.

    Facts and source
    • More than 2,700 pupils from 15 schools are taking part, proposing solutions and voting on projects for their schools.
    • The city hall is providing 375,000 lei in total, 25,000 lei per school, to carry out the projects chosen by pupils.
    • Winning projects will be implemented between January and June 2027.

    Source: Cluj-Napoca city hall, “Com’ON School 2026: peste 2700 de elevi din școlile clujene implicați în programul de bugetare participativă”

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  2. Mobility ·

    Cluj-Napoca signs Transport Programme funding contract to continue its first metro line

    Cluj-Napoca has signed contract no. 166/2026 to continue Metro Line I under the Transport Programme 2021-2027, with up to 1,819,644,861.13 lei in non-reimbursable funding and 8.8 km of line due by the end of 2029.

    Facts and source
    • The city signed financing contract no. 166/2026 with the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, the managing authority for the Transport Programme 2021-2027.
    • The project covers 17.8 km of metro line, of which 8.8 km must be completed by the end of 2029.
    • Maximum non-reimbursable funding is 1,819,644,861.13 lei, or 98% of the approved eligible value.

    Source: Cluj-Napoca city hall, “Semnarea contractului de finanțare în cadrul Programului Transport 2021-2027 pentru continuarea obiectivului „Componenta 1 Magistrala I de metrou Cluj””

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  3. Regeneration and housing ·

    Cluj-Napoca hosts URBACT URBAN ECHO partners to plan the regeneration of Iris

    Cluj-Napoca hosted the third transnational meeting of the URBACT IV network URBAN ECHO from 13 to 15 October 2026, with six cities taking part, as it works to adapt Ghent's neighbourhood regeneration approach to the Iris neighbourhood.

    Facts and source
    • Cluj-Napoca hosted the third URBAN ECHO transnational meeting from 13 to 15 October 2026.
    • Through URBAN ECHO, Cluj-Napoca aims to adapt Ghent's regeneration approach to the Iris neighbourhood.
    • URBAN ECHO is an URBACT IV network led by Ghent and co-funded by the European Union.

    Source: Primăria Municipiului Cluj-Napoca, “URBAN ECHO la Cluj-Napoca: colaborare europeană pentru viitorul cartierului Iris”

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  4. Regeneration and housing ·

    EU URBREATH project brings a revitalised riverside green space to a Cluj-Napoca estate

    Cluj-Napoca opened a revitalised green space on the Someș bank on Strada Nădășel on 19 September 2026, one of the URBREATH project sites, with new trees, recyclable street furniture and a children's show attended by more than 100 children.

    Facts and source
    • The site is one of the spaces between apartment blocks revitalised under the EU URBREATH project.
    • The City Hall planted trees and made light-touch improvements with street furniture made from recyclable materials.
    • More than 100 children attended the opening event.

    Source: Primăria Municipiului Cluj-Napoca, “Spațiile verzi din cartiere prind viață prin proiecte europene și evenimente de calitate”

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  5. Mobility ·

    Cluj-Napoca starts building a new Garibaldi bridge over the Someș

    Cluj-Napoca is starting construction of a new four-lane Garibaldi bridge over the Someșul Mic, closing the old bridge to cars from 14 September 2026 while a temporary bridge, opened on 12 August, keeps Grigorescu connected.

    Facts and source
    • Cluj-Napoca City Hall is starting construction of the new Garibaldi bridge.
    • The new bridge will have four traffic lanes, space for pedestrians and cycle tracks.
    • A temporary bridge opened to traffic on 12 August 2026.

    Source: Primăria Municipiului Cluj-Napoca, “Începe modernizarea Podului Garibaldi”

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City briefs are drafted with AI from official sources; every fact is matched automatically against the source text before publication, without an editor approving it first.

Projects we track

5 projects · 2 completed · 3 under way

    1. Planned
    2. Funded
    3. Under way
    4. Completed

    New Garibaldi bridge over the Someșul Mic

    Works to replace the 60-year-old Garibaldi bridge began in September 2026; the new bridge will have four traffic lanes, pavements and cycle tracks, with a temporary bridge carrying traffic meanwhile.

    Mobility

    Status checked 20 October 2026 · Source

    1. Planned
    2. Funded
    3. Under way
    4. Completed

    Metropolitan ring road, section I (Cluj-Napoca – Florești)

    The road was widened from four to six lanes, with 3.5 km of lanes for buses, bicycles and emergency vehicles and an access to the future regional emergency hospital.

    Budget €23 million Funded by EU funds (85%), national budget (13%), Cluj-Napoca and Florești local budgets (2%) Mobility

    Status checked 20 October 2026 · Source

    1. Planned
    2. Funded
    3. Under way
    4. Completed

    Borhanci education hub

    A campus of nursery, kindergarten, schools, a high school and sports facilities; the high school and sports hall (€8.4 million) were completed in August 2026 and the school is next.

    Budget €100 million (whole hub) Funded by EU funds (PNRR, Regional Operational Programme), national and local budgets Talent and innovation

    Status checked 20 October 2026 · Source

    1. Planned
    2. Funded
    3. Under way
    4. Completed

    URBREATH: nature-based regeneration of spaces between blocks

    An EU project in which the city revitalises green spaces between apartment blocks with nature-based solutions and community events, including a riverside site on Strada Nădășel.

    Funded by European Union Regeneration and housing

    Status checked 20 October 2026 · Source

    1. Planned
    2. Funded
    3. Under way
    4. Completed

    Online e-ticketing for public transport cards

    An eTicketing platform and mobile apps let passengers buy tickets and passes online by bank card and load them onto transport cards; the project ended on 30 August 2026.

    Budget 1,230,674.97 lei Funded by National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) Digital government

    Status checked 20 October 2026 · Source

Coming up in Cluj-Napoca

Also held here: Cluj Innovation Days 2026, DevTalks 2026 Cluj-Napoca, Eurocities Annual Conference 2024, IEEE International Conference on Intelligent Computer Communication and Processing 2026, Romanian Leaders in Energy Transition: North-West Region 2026, Techsylvania 2026, Transilvania Digital Innovation Summit 2026 .

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September 2026

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