Călărași steel works
steel mill in Călărași, Romania
The Călărași steel works (Romanian: Combinatul Siderurgic Călărași), formally Donasid Călărași and formerly Siderca Călărași, is a steel mill in Călărași, Romania.
History
Origins and growth under communism
The genesis of the project took place during the communist regime on a July morning in 1974, when dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu, returning from a visit to Constanța, stopped at the garbage mound at the edge of Călărași and decided a steel mill would be built there. Plans were drawn up, construction being delayed the following year mainly due to floods. Final approval for the construction was secured in February 1976, by a decree of the State Council of Romania; production capacity was estimated at 10 million tons of steel per year.
The first stake was driven in March 1976, although building, engineered by IPROMET Bucharest, did not begin in earnest until 1978. A foreign loan totaling over $100 million was taken out, and the factory was inaugurated in 1979. Covering 650 hectares (1,600 acres) on the Borcea branch of the Danube, 6,000 workers were initially hired. These came from the area and the rest of the country, while experts were brought in from the works at Reșița, Galați, and Hunedoara. Work went on seven days a week, twelve hours a day; generous salaries were paid, as well as bonuses and overtime. Deputy Prime Minister Ion Dincă made frequent quick inspections.
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