The Kazakh-Romanian Energy Investment Fund (KREIF) and Rompetrol Downstream – the retail structural subdivision of the KMG International Group in Romania opened on March 9th the first four integrated service centres on the A1 highway (Nadlac – Sibiu section) left and right) and town of Orastie (KM 340+500 The stations were handed over for equipment and maintenance by The National Company for Road Infrastructure Administration to Rompetrol Downstream based on service concession contracts awarded by public auction Part of the IV Pan-European Transport Corridor (Dresden – Istanbul) the A1 highway is the main connecting road to and from Hungary and the western countries of the European Union both for commercial purposes and for tourists developed for the new gas stations on the highways which ensures clients’ access to a variety of products and services relaxation or having meals with the loved ones and spaces for local and regional producers There are also fast electric charging stations and the partnership concluded with the KFC chain of restaurants,” says Catalin Dumitru Retail and Marketing Director in KMG International and member of the Board of Directors of the Kazakh-Romanian Energy Investment Fund The four stations inaugurated on March 9th are part of a 12 service centres package that the Fund will open on the A1 highway with a total investment estimated at over 40 million dollars The investment effort for the first four integrated centres amounted 14 million dollars with the remaining eight units to be opened in the next period The new stations have a total surface of approximately 4.260 sq The interior space is three times bigger than an average Rompetrol gas station and it includes shop dedicated spaces for mothers with children and facilities for disabled people “The Rompetrol brand continues its development on national and regional levels In 2013 we launched a new general concept of Rompetrol stations at the end of 2019 we showed the clients its development by aligning the façade elements with current trends and optimizing the space for gastro products and now we move to the next level – a new Rompetrol station for highways in Romania These are also the first gas stations in Romania where one can have hot meals made with fresh ingredients from local producers The menu suits every taste and includes dishes from traditional and international cuisine,” states Zhanibek Nugertayev the General Manager of Rompetrol Downstream With about 45-65 new employees per gas station each one is equipped with 6 fuel dispensers for cars 2 fast dispensers for trucks/international truck drivers/buses a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) supply skid and also 4 fast charging stations for electric cars the company analyses the possibility to install high efficiency photovoltaic panels in the next period Among the services offered by the gas stations there are Fill & Go systems terminals for payment of the vignette/invoices/bank transfers/buying insurance and also 97 parking places (Pecica) and 108 (Orastie) for cars and trucks The new concept ensures a natural development of the “hei” brand hence creating three distinctive service lines – hei & gourmet for the assisted service for the restaurant hot meals hei & go for the shop products and hei & coffee for coffee together with the local authorities we try to find local and regional producers interested in the promotion and selling of the Romanian products we will continue the development of this services center by creating dedicated spaces and safe trading conditions,” Zhanibek Nugertayev added Another premiere for the gas stations located on the highways in Romania is the partnership between Rompetrol and KFC operated by the holding Sphera Franchise Group the KFC restaurants will have distinct spaces and will be found in 3 locations out of 12 Rompetrol gas stations on A1 highway (Pecica – km 558+380 Giarmata – km 500+596 and Orastie – km 340 +500) About the Kazakh Romanian Energy Investment Fund (KREIF) Part of the Memorandum of Understanding concluded in 2014 between KMG International and the Romanian State the Kazakh-Romanian Energy Investment Fund was established in October 2018 its main and strategic objective pursuing the development of energy projects in Romania Its only shareholders are KMG International and Societatea de Administrare a Participatiilor in Energie – SAPE The Investment Fund has two major investment projects under development – the construction of a thermoelectric cogeneration plant on the Midia platform and the fuel distribution network development under Rompetrol umbrella The construction of the new cogeneration plant started in May 2021 whereas the estimated deadline for its commissioning is in the second half of this year The total amount of investment exceeds $ 152 million and will generate around $ 11 million of taxes paid to the state budget In line with the strategy adopted in 2019 by its shareholders the Fund set out the goal to reach a network of 84 gas stations from which 4 stations will be put into commissioning in the near future The gas stations will sell exclusively the Efix range of car fuel products – produced in Petromidia refinery from Navodari This refinery is part of the Rompetrol Rafinare company owned by KMG International (54,63% – direct and indirect) and by the State of Romania through the Ministry of Energy (44,7%) The total amount of investments under implementation by the KREIF reached $ 315 million by the end of 2022 Rompetrol Downstream is the retail structural subdivision of the KMG International Group in Romania As of the end of 2022 the company operated a network of 1.257 stations for selling the fuel which includes stations owned by Rompetrol as well as mobile stations – Rompetrol Express and internal bases (9 and 20 cubic meter tanks located at the premises of companies from various fields of activity – transportation the company operates at the national level 6 fuel depots and over 7.000 LPG cylinders distribution points/Rompetrol for household use By expanding and diversifying the range of services and products offered supported by the possibility of charging electric cars or mobile applications Rompetrol stations have evolved in the last 15 years becoming service centres and energy suppliers for customers The retail structural subdivision of the KMG International Group launched in 2017 the first gas station with the electrical chargers for the electric cars whereas in 2018 finished the installation of high-capacity solar panels at one of the gas stations operated by Rompetrol in Bucharest a premiere for Romania and the Black Sea region In 2020 the company implemented a new service dedicated to natural persons – “CashBack” through which the withdrawal of cash with 0% commission is possible at any Rompetrol gas station Rompetrol Downstream was the first player from the oil & gas industry and one of the first non-banking companies in Romania which launched the cash withdrawal service at the national level Claudiu Ionescu is the architect behind Romania's very first digital museum Situated near the Mures Floodplain Natural Park in the town of Pecica the unusual and chapel-like museum features a sweeping green roof and dramatic spire facade at its rear transforms the museum into a giant sun dial the new museum is home to the latest 3D technologies which allow visitors to virtually explore various museums and artifacts from around the world "Visitors can expect to see whatever they choose to see It's a digital museum and that translates into a plethora of subjects that can be displayed," Claudiu Ionescu tells Gizmag "One feature that I like the most is that you can visit any museum of the world using passive 3D technology The 45-inch touchscreens are also an impressive way to communicate ideas." With an area of just 125 sq m (1,345 sq ft) the museum represents an efficient use of space by presenting digital exhibitions from all over the world which would otherwise fill thousands of square meters "My favorite design feature of the museum is the fact that in 125 sq m you can display thousands of square meters of museums using just a fraction of the utility and staff costs that a real museum has," says Ionescu "I also like that fact that quite often people come here to see local history and traditions Pecica is a very old community and they're best known for their bread so a working 250 year old bread oven is also present inside the museum." The museum's structure was built using reinforced concrete walls and features an aluminum bonded facade Photovoltaic panels supply the museum with its energy and gray water is collected and recycled via the roof and surrounding paved courtyards The interior is equipped with low energy LED lighting and the orientation of the windows has been positioned to reduce overheating during the warmer months The museum also invites visitors to explore the nearby natural floodplain using virtual or physical means visitors can pedal away on a stationary bike that has a motion sensor attached to the back wheel and is hooked up to a digital screen The user can then virtually explore in real time some of the existing bike trails Alternatively patrons can utilize any of the 60 mountain bikes available on site and actually get onto the bike tracks art sculptures and other interior features the museum's total cost to build was €120,000 (approx US$160,500) and was completed in just five months Source: Claudiu Ionescu via Arch Daily technology and rigorous research together to test how they might engage with audiences in new ways or test new business models Because arts funding is limited and resources are stretched it's vital to publicly share the results of our experiments with one another This includes our successes and our mistakes – so that others can learn from them and innovate further The Digital R&D Fund for the Arts has supported digital projects across the UK and we're beginning to publish the findings and insights from these on our website and magazine. But innovation in the arts goes beyond our borders. With the help of the British Council's Creative Economy team we've scanned the globe for projects that are using digital technologies in new and inspiring ways Lightwave is a piece of wearable technology that gathers real-time data about its wearer Through live visualisations of the data from the crowd the performers get real insights about the audience's experience giving them the opportunity to change tact to ensure an interactive performance World Online Orchestra is helping to bring chamber music to everyone's door The interactive platform allows users to listen to the 40 members of the Copenhagen Phil perform a piece of music together or mix and match up to five performers to create their own sound Users can currently conduct the digital orchestra but will soon be able to upload their own recordings and perform virtually alongside them as well Culture Shift has so far taken place across Africa one of the hack days resulted in a fashion label that allows customers to input to the design process and a project that uses QR codes to spread the stories behind street art in Nairobi A platform where 150,000 digitised artworks from the Rijksmuseum's collection are available to the public to view download and turn into new products such as wallpaper and iPad cases Users not only get to play designer but also entrepreneur with the studio setting up pop-up physical stores for the products made as well as a partnership with online marketplace Etsy The Rubens House in Antwerp is using iBeacon technology to push contextual information to visitors based on their exact location in the museum low-power technology is used to notify visitors of the stories behind paintings they are viewing which require visitors to initiate interaction this new model hopes to better integrate the digital and physical experience Installations that have come out of the project range from an interactive commute featuring bus stops that speak back to you to interactive lighting that marks pick-up points for river taxis on the Capibaribe river This state-of-the-art museum in Pecica relies exclusively on 3D and other digital technologies and lets visitors explore other museums and their content around the world An advantage is that the museum can host any presentation or exhibition without the need of a very large space large number of staff or substantial maintenance costs On a more local scale it also gives visitors the opportunity to explore the local area on a virtual bike tour or by renting one of the museum's physical ones is designed to encourage interaction and engagement Australia's oldest independent professional performing arts organisation, Musica Viva has developed an interactive whiteboard and several digital learning resources to make school music education more fun There are also singing exercises to understand the connection between lyrics and notation as well as drag-and-drop combinations of sounds and instruments to help students and teachers learn about the elements of music and develop skills in listening Beyond Digital is a crowdfunded research and skill-sharing programme that explores how local musicians can utilise global digital technologies such as how Auto-Tune's robotic vocal effects can be used in traditional Berber folk music digital media workshops and public performances young people have been invited to experiment and introduce alternatives to western concepts of digital literacy Emma Quinn is senior programme manager and Athina Balopoulou is a researcher at Nesta Join our community of arts, culture and creative professionals by signing up free to the Guardian Culture Pros Network Yakisoba with no need for hot water cut, Payang "Soup Yakisoba" Taste Review America's vocational winning group ranking Mar 11, 2010 20:00:20 in Note,   Video