Bucharest metropolitan area
—  Metropolitan area  —
Country	Romania
County	Bucureşti Ilfov
Central Municipality	Bucharest
Other localities
Functional	estimated in 2009
Time zone	EET (UTC+2)
- Summer (DST)	EEST (UTC+3)
Postal Code	0 S NNNN1
Area code(s)	+40 x12
Website	http://www.zmb.ro/
1S is the number of the Sector, and NNNN is used to differentiate between streets and/or subzones 2x is a digit indicating the operator: 2 for the former national operator, Romtelecom, and 3 for the other ground telephone networks

The Bucharest metropolitan area (Romanian: Zona Metropolitana Bucureşti) includes Bucharest, the capital city of Romania, and surrounding communes. It has a population of about 2.2 million,^[1] only slightly larger than that of the city proper (1.9 million). It is also a member of the METREX network.^[2]

The metropolitan area itself has been started as a project in 2003, and it is a strict necessity to become functional by 2010,^[3] or in 2009.^[4] A survey in 2008 showed that about 70% of the population of the area favors the project.^[4] The city proper has now 228 km², but the metropolitan zone would reach 1,800 in a first phase, and perhaps even 4,000 in 15–20 years.^[3]

There are plans to greatly increase this metropolitan area within the next 5 to 10 years. A possible name for it will be Greater Bucharest.^[5] In 2018 or 2020, the metropolitan area will be 20 times larger in territory, and will include cities like Giurgiu, Olteniţa, and Otopeni. In spite of this expansion, the ethnografic area of Vlaşca will be protected. The Bucharest metropolitan area may become the biggest port on the Danube upon completion of the Danube-Bucharest Canal.

There are several plans to further increase the metropolitan area of Bucharest, to about 20 times the area of the city proper (from 228 km² to 5,046 km²). It would include 6 cities and 87 communes from the Ilfov, Giurgiu and Călăraşi counties, and would extend all the way to the border with Bulgaria in the south and to Prahova County in the north. In an initial stage, the extension of the zone would include only 62 of the proposed 93 candidates.^[4]

[edit] External links

• http://www.springerlink.com/content/h328571t24g57525/
• (Romanian) "Metropolitan Zone of Bucharest will be ready in 10 years"
• (Romanian)"Official site of Metropolitan Zone of Bucharest Project"
• http://www.9am.ro/stiri-revista-presei/Business/17770/Zona-metropolitana-Bucuresti-o-comunitate-de-5-000-kmp
• http://www.wall-street.ro/articol/Economie/25714/Zona-Metropolitana-Bucuresti-ar-urma-sa-se-intinda-pana-la-Dunare.html
• http://www.romanialibera.ro/a94321/zona-metropolitana-bucuresti-va-fi-gata-peste-10-ani.html
• The Bucharest Metropolitan Area

v • d • e Metropolitan areas in Romania Braşov • Cluj-Napoca • Constanţa • Iaşi • Oradea - Bucharest • Bacău • Craiova • Lower Danube (Galaţi-Brăila) • Ploieşti • Timişoara