Once considered the tallest building in capital, the sale of Bucharest Telephone Palace, owned by Telekom Romania, is not on its strategic priorities list. “This topic stirs emotions, some of them I understand, others not. Telephone Palace is a building which, at the moment, is not in good condition,” Nikolai Beckers, CEO Telekom Romania said in a press conference on Thursday, assuring that the tender will be transparent process.
According to him, this subject will be discussed in a Board group meeting, and if decision will be taken in this regard, the auction will be resumed.
Beckers stressed that currently the property’s sale is not included on Telekom Romania agenda as a priority.
This February, the Minister for Information Society, Sorin Grindeanu, said that the proceeds of an eventual sale of Telephone Palace, but also from other buildings of national heritage – Tandem building and a property on Matei Milo street – should remain in Romania for investment and creating new jobs.
Telekom Romania announced last year that will organize a tender to sell Telephone Palace, its former headquarters under Romtelecom name and two other neighboring properties located on Calea Victoriei in Bucharest, starting from of EUR 21.6 million. This is considered part of the company’s strategy to sell its non-core assets, including its portfolio of real-estate properties. Moreover, Telekom Romania launched a special website where it posted all of its properties for sale or for rent.
The tender expired without the Telephone Palace be sold.
The first major modernist building on Bucharest’s Calea Victoriei, historical Telephone Palace was inaugurated in 1934 in the presence of King Carol II. A 1993 study revealed structural problems. Before a major reconstruction project which was to begin in 1997, engineers had to begin by redrawing building plans, as the originals had been lost.