A0 Bucharest ring road almost complete: What’s left and which sectors are being worked on (Video)

We could soon circulate a bit more easily on the roads in the Capital – including on the Bucharest Beltway (DNCB) – if all sections of A0 – the highway worth almost 1 billion lei, which will surround the city, are inaugurated.

In this article, we show you which sections are already in use and which are the lots that may delay the complete closure of the ring.

A0 is needed to take over a large part of the transit traffic in the Bucharest area. We are talking about those vehicles - from cars to trucks - that pass through Bucharest even without stopping, heading to other destinations.

Usually, auto navigation applications direct these drivers to DNCB. But when this road gets blocked - and this happens daily during peak hours - the applications redirect transit drivers through the city on roads that are already almost blocked by the vehicles of those who work and/or live in the Capital.

One of the solutions would be for the large number of vehicles that no longer fit on the Capital's Beltway to circulate on A0.

Plans for the highway are over a decade and a half old

It has been discussed for over a decade and a half. For example, you can find here - on the PeUndeMerg forum website, of the Association Pro Infrastructure (API) - discussions dating back to 2011 regarding the review of the feasibility study. To make construction easier, the highway - 100.7 km long - was divided into 2 semi-rings: one in the north and the other in the south.

Subsequently, each semi-ring was divided into lots. And for each lot, the National Company for the Management of Road Infrastructure (CNAIR) launched tenders, selected designers and builders, signed contracts, and issued work commencement orders.

"The South" has started to do its job

Things went more smoothly on the southern semi-ring (50.99 km). Here is the situation:  

• Lot 1, between A2 - CF902 (Jilava), 16.9km long. It was built under the coordination of the Turks from Alsim Alarko Sanayi Tesisleri ve Ticaret AS. And it opened in stages in April and July 2024.

• Lot 2, between Jilava and DN6, 16.3km long. Also built by Alsim Alarko Sanayi Tesisleri ve Ticaret AS, it opened in stages in December 2023 and April 2024.  

• Lot 3, between DN6 - A1/DJ601. 17.97km long, was built by Aktor SA - Euro Construct Trading SRL. It opened in June 2025.

In July 2025, the general director of the National Company for the Management of Road Infrastructure (CNAIR), Cristian Pistol, announced that this semi-ring had already started to reduce the heavy traffic on DNCB. And it already takes over 40% of the number of trucks that were circulating, normally, on the southern sections of DNCB.

Find all the figures presented by Cristian Pistol HERE.

The full capacity of A0 to take over transit traffic in the Bucharest area will only be seen after the complete inauguration.

And for that to happen, work needs to be completed on several more construction sites on the northern semi-ring. Here is the situation.

North A0: where we are and what we risk delaying

A first lot in this road section is the 17.5 km one between the intersection with DJ601 and DN1 (Corbeanca).

The builders are: Impresa Pizzarotti (Italy) and Retter Project Management (Romania).

The contract was signed in September 2023. The work was supposed to last for 34 months: the first 12 for design and the following 22 months for construction. In other words, according to the contract, this highway lot was supposed to be completed, at the latest, in July 2026.

But since the building permit was issued only on January 23, 2025, in reality, the completion deadline is not in July 2026, but in November 2026.

In a recent analysis, the Association Pro Infrastructure expressed concern about the gap between how little the Italians have worked compared to the Romanian constructor. The latter promised a partial inauguration in April 2026.

"It is a very ambitious goal and yes, it is still possible with precise management coupled with rapid and focused execution," appreciated the Association Pro Infrastructure.

At the end of last week, the Secretary of State in the Ministry of Transport, Ionel Scrioșteanu, announced that the Romanian constructor is intensively working on relocating some utilities on the construction site. It is an essential step, considering that the networks block the start of some difficult works on the lot.

Scrioșteanu has committed to completing this section of the road by May - June 2026. Find other data presented by the Secretary of State HERE.

A recent drone footage by infrastructure enthusiasts shows the progress of the works on the construction site:

The next lot in the northern semi-ring of A0, the second - meaning the 19 km one between the intersections with DN1 (Corbeanca) and DN2 (Afumați) - has already been built by the Association SA&PE Construct SRL - Spedition UMB SRL - Tehnostrade SRL. It was inaugurated in stages in November 2023 and December 2024.

The Chinese could have finished by 2025, but lacked motivation

The third lot, the 8.6 km one between the intersections DN2 (from Afumați) and DN3 (from Cernica), is built under the coordination of the entrepreneur China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC). It is also the only highway lot in Romania built by a Chinese contractor.

The contract was signed in March 2023 for 30 months. That is 12 months for design and 18 months for execution. At that time - and according to those initial deadlines - the road was supposed to be completed in September 2025.

In the meantime, a partial inauguration has taken place: 2.3 km of highway. And the updated completion deadline is February 2026.

The Association Pro Infrastructure appreciated - in an analysis you can read in full HERE - that if they had mobilized, the Chinese could have completed the works in the summer of 2025. But they have no interest in pushing hard, since CNAIR does not put enough pressure on them, and Chinese companies are no longer allowed to participate in tenders in Romania (so any good impression they would leave would not benefit the constructor in any way).

According to API, spring 2026 is an optimistic deadline for the inauguration.

Below, recent images from the construction site, as captured by infrastructure enthusiasts with a drone:

This lot is crucial because without it, the next one cannot be used, and it would remain a "museum."

It concerns the last lot of the northern semi-ring and the one that will close the circle around Bucharest. Specifically, the 4.47 km between the intersections with DN3 (at Cernica) and A2.

This construction site is managed by the Association SA&PE Construct SRL - Spedition UMB SRL - Tehnostrade SRL. The contract was signed in 2020. And the building permits were issued in the spring of 2023 and 2024. In theory - according to the contractual terms - the construction site should have been completed last month.

It was not completed. It wouldn't have helped even if it had been. According to API, the contractor - who has many construction sites in the country and is experiencing delays - would want all the interest to finish the work, even if it remains a museum, to mobilize his people and equipment on the A7 construction sites.

Recent images from the construction site show that, although the work is advanced, the contractor still has work to do. It is not on the verge of leaving the construction site and requesting reception.

Conclusion: Yes, it can be done!

If the current pace is maintained, there are real chances that by the end of 2026, we will be able to completely bypass Bucharest on the highway. The south is already taking over traffic, and all of the north still under construction has committed deadlines for next year.

But this scenario depends on several conditions: constant mobilization on construction sites, utility relocations without administrative blockages, real pressure from the authorities, and avoiding delays. Any deviation of a few months risks postponing the inauguration.

Until then, Bucharesters will only feel partial benefits of A0. The truly visible impact - on DNCB and in the city - should only come when the entire A0 ring is functional.

And in the coming year, we will find out if the promises turn into asphalt or remain just plans on paper.