The Minister of Economy, Entrepreneurship and Tourism, Ștefan Radu Oprea, stated that, regarding the Beretta project, the first operations could begin at the Cugir Mechanical Plant (UM) at the end of August, according to Romania Journal.
“The hall is already ready, waiting for the equipment, the technology part. The people are ready to be trained. It is a program that, in the end, entered a good area, because we brought Beretta here, where people know how to make weapons and it is much easier. Unfortunately, there have been some less good decisions throughout history. This project has been tossed around from one area to another. It should have been produced a long time ago, and if a decision was made good to come to the defense industry and not to try new constructions, we probably would have produced these Beretta pistols a long time ago”, said Minister Ștefan Radu Oprea, who was on a working visit to the two weapons factories in Cugir.
When asked exactly when the equipment for equipping the new hall will arrive, the minister said that it is a program that is agreed with the Italian partner.
“As far as I know, by the end of August, the training program must be completed and the first operations must begin,” said Ștefan Radu Oprea.
In December 2023, the Executive approved the extension by 1 year and 6 months of the Compensation Agreements concluded between the Compensation Office for Special Technical Procurement and ROMARM S.A. National Company, respectively of the transfers of technologies and licenses operated by the Beretta arms factory in the industrial infrastructure of UM Cugir, until June 29, 2025.
In August 2023, Ștefan-Radu Oprea announced, in Alba Iulia, that there are advanced discussions about the implementation of the Beretta project, an Italian company with which a memorandum was signed by UM Plopeni in 2019, at one of the two weapons factories in Cugir.
In February this year, mass media reported that the Mechanical Plant in Cugir intends to hire “urgently” 88 people, in order to be able to honor a series of new contracts for the supply of ammunition.
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