| WYG International was asked to take over these Phare projects in June 1999 by the Ministry of Industries and Trade, after the work undertaken by the original contractor was rejected by the Ministry and the EC Delegation. The objective was to prepare short-term action plans and medium term development strategies for the two regions. Initial work concentrated on revising the SWOT analysis of each region that had been prepared by the original contractor. A range of meetings was held with relevant local actors including the staff of the SouthWest Oltenia and West RDAs. Our analysis showed that whilst both areas have been severely affected by the restructuring of the mining industry, the situations in the two areas are significantly different. We developed strategies and action plans that reflected the strengths, needs, constraints and priorities of the two areas. Strategic objectives were developed for each region. These strategic objectives were translated into specific proposals and short-term action plans were developed from the strategies. In total 29 specific actions were proposed for Gorj County and 35 proposed for the Jiu Valley. Each action was costed and the number of jobs created, both directly and indirectly, was estimated. In order to estimate the additional funding necessary to implement the strategies and action plans, a comprehensive survey of the relevant ministries and governmental agencies, together with all the major aid agencies, was undertaken.
One of the main areas of specialist consulting was to assess the housing stock in Petrosani and make recommendations for improvements to availability and to the condition of housing. WYG International associate experts assessed the condition of the housing stock which included both detached and semi-detached low-rise housing and apartment blocks, assessed the infrastructure and utility provision as well as the various forms of tenure operating. Recommendations were made for various development programmes including the provision of serviced sites and the promotion of self build associations, demolition programme for degraded structures, the promotion of timber-framed houses, conversion of existing housing, provision of social housing and the mobilisation of Residents Associations.
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