Initial plans for nuclear power plants called for an installed capacity of 1 million kilowatts by 1975 and 2.4 million kilowatts by 1980. Construction was to begin in the 1966-70 period, but this target was not met. A subsequently revised plan for the 1971-80 period envisaged the construction of nuclear plants with a total capacity of from 1.8 million to 2.4 million kilowatts. Construction of the plants was to begin between 1971 and 1975, and their commissioning was to take place in the 1976-80 period. No information has been made public on the contemplated source or sources of the equipment for these plants, other than the agreed-upon Soviet unit. Romania must rely on foreign technical assistance for its nuclear energy program.
In 1969 industry, excluding construction and small private artisan shops, comprised 1,151 enterprises employing almost 2 million persons. Seventy percent of the enterprises, which included 92 percent of the employed persons, were owned and operated by the state, and the remaining were run by collectives, including collective farms. State industry produced 95.7 percent of the gross output; collective enterprises contributed 4.1 percent; and private establishments accounted for only 0.2 percent of total production.
Seventy percent of the state industrial enterprises, which included 89 percent of the persons employed by the state, were administered by central authorities; the remaining were subject to the jurisdiction of local government bodies. Collective enterprises are subject to governmental controls; their activities are covered by the annual and five-year economic plans, and many of the enterprises act as suppliers of tools, spare parts, and miscellaneous equipment to state enterprises on a contractual basis. Their main function, however, is to provide consumer goods and services for the population.
Centrally administered enterprises include the largest and most important industrial units. A consolidation of these enterprises in 1969 reduced their number by half and correspondingly increased their average size. Employment per enterprise in 1969 averaged 2,860 persons; it ranged from 800 persons in printing to more than 8,000 persons in the leather and footwear industry. Individual enterprises may be composed of more than one plant, which accounts, in part, for the large number of workers. Over 60 percent of the enterprises under central government administration had more than 1,000 workers each, and almost 27 percent employed more than 3,000 workers per enterprise.
Enterprises under local government jurisdiction were generally smaller—95 percent of these employed from 200 to 2,000 workers each—but even in this group there were some enterprises with more than 5,000 workers. Collective enterprises were still smaller—77 percent employed no more than 500 workers per unit. One collective enterprise, nevertheless, employed between 2,000 and 3,000 workers.
Employment in construction totaled 648,000 persons in 1969. Information on the number and organization of construction enterprises is not available.
The internal management structure of state enterprises has undergone a transformation. By decision of the party's Central Committee in April 1968, amplified by another decision in May 1970, the principle of collective management replaced that of one-man management in all enterprises and state economic organizations. Management committees are chaired by enterprise directors and consist of the following members: the managerial personnel, appointed by the ministry; the chairmen of the trade union, as legal representatives of the enterprise trade union committees; the secretaries of the party committees and of the communist youth organizations in the enterprises; and a number of employee representatives.
The secretaries of the two party organizations were given full membership in May 1970 in a move to strengthen the control by the party. Before that date the secretaries of the party committees merely participated in the discussions, and the secretaries of the communist youth organizations played no role at all. County and municipal party organs also provide direction for the management committees' work.
According to party decisions, the management committees are deliberative organs with powers to make decisions concerning the conduct of the technical, economic, and social activities of the enterprise. Two-thirds of the membership constitutes a quorum, and decisions can be adopted by a simple majority of those present. In cases of disagreement between the committee chairman (the enterprise director) and a majority of the management committee, the matter is submitted for resolution to the higher administrative body.