The green space in downtown Ungheni, between Înfrățirii Square and the Episcopal Cathedral, will be turned into an „urban garden” — Ungheni City Hall announced on its official page on Friday, 17 July. The plot, covering 0,8 hectares, is entering rehabilitation through a cross-border project funded by the European Union. In its announcement, City Hall states that it is „just a partner” in the project. Programme documents show that the municipality actually holds the largest individual budget of all the partners.
Who is footing the bill
The project is called „Cultivating Clean Air in Urban Environments” (code ROMD00453, acronym GARDEN) and is carried out through the Interreg VI-A NEXT Romania–Republic of Moldova 2021–2027 Programme. The total budget, according to the programme database, is 303.802,50 euros, of which the European Union covers 273.422,25 euros — 90%.
The three partners divide the budget as follows: the „Business InnoHub” Association, the project lead, has 99.541,50 euros; the „Mai Bine” Association of Iași — 52.000 euros; and Ungheni City Hall — 152.261 euros. This is the largest individual share, 50,1% of the total — more than the organisation running the project.
The wording „just a partner” is legally accurate: in the agreement, the municipality appears as „Partner 2”, not as the lead. Financially, however, half the project passes through City Hall’s budget. Through Decision no. 1/11 of 28 January 2025, the Municipal Council approved co-financing from local public money of 15.226,10 euros — the 10% that falls to the municipality out of its individual budget. The decision also requires the administration to cover the expenses temporarily until they are reimbursed by the European programme.
The project lead, „Business InnoHub”, is an organisation from Ungheni, linked to the „Făclia” Association for Children and Youth — so coordination, too, belongs to a local entity.
What is being built and what remains unclear
On the 0,8 hectares, according to City Hall, „dozens of species of saplings and flowers” will be planted, recreation areas will be arranged, and the space will become a laboratory for learning and cooperation. How many trees currently stand on the plot, how many will be planted, and whether any will be cut down do not emerge from any public document — these are details held by the administration.
Within the perimeter stands the Martyrs of the Nation memorial cross (Troița), a monument raised in 1994 in memory of the local men who fell in the 1992 conflict on the Nistru. City Hall announces that the existing sculptures, including the Troița, „will be harmoniously integrated” into the new layout. What this means concretely for the monument — whether it is moved, restored or merely framed — is not described in any public technical plan.
Among the public consultations listed by City Hall, there is none dedicated to the development of this space. For the naming of Înfrățirii Square, located next to it, the administration had held a public survey in 2024.
Three green spaces, three sources of money
The urban garden joins a string of developments in the town centre that are easy to confuse with one another. „Micul Cluj” Park is, in fact, the Central Park, renamed in 2020 and rehabilitated with financial support from Cluj-Napoca. Înfrățirii Square, next to the Courthouse, was also restored with the support of the twin city Cluj-Napoca. The urban garden — the plot between the square and the cathedral — is, however, a distinct project, funded from European funds, not by Cluj-Napoca.
The GARDEN project began on 12 June 2025 and must be completed by 11 December 2026, that is, in 18 months. The announcement of the start of works came on 17 July 2026 — about five months before the completion deadline.