According to him, a Regulation on visual inspection of buildings for seismic resistance has now been developed. Based on the data obtained, buildings will be classified into three risk categories – high, medium and low. A fund will be identified to conduct an expert examination of high-risk buildings and possibilities for their further strengthening.
Given that the Energy Efficiency Program for Buildings is being actively implemented, these activities need to be linked to earthquake rehabilitation. In Romania, there was a sad experience when, in order to save energy, the walls of buildings were covered with heat-insulating materials, which did not allow further determination of their technical condition.
“Taking into account this experience, we prohibited to perform energy efficiency measures without taking into account and examining the bearing capacity and seismic resistance of buildings. In addition, recently a contract was signed with the World Bank, which will finance the work of a consultant and the development of a seismic microzonation map for Chisinau,” Veaceslav Shipitca said.
Chisinau is located in the zone of subsidence soils, landslides, increased seismicity. And if the seismic zone, for example, is in the zone of 8 points, then under the cumulative impact of all factors, it can turn into a site with a 9-point risk. The WB project is designed for two to two and a half years.
Recall that specialists of the Institute of Geology and Seismology of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Moldova in 2010 developed a map of seismic zoning of the Republic of Moldova, which became a kind of guide for developers. The map divides Moldova into three zones: 8-point (14% of the territory in the south); 7-point (65% in the center and partially in the north) and 6-point (21% in the eastern and northern parts of the country bordering Ukraine).
Proceeding from the fact that the most intensive construction is carried out in the capital, the Institute of Geology and Seismology of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Moldova has drawn up a map of seismic microzonation of the territory of Chisinau. It reflects the seismic hazard of the territory taking into account both the current engineering-geological properties of soils and their possible changes. In addition, the zoning of Kishinev by the values of resonance periods of soils was carried out. The map indicates areas unfavorable in seismic terms for construction (erosion and landslide slopes, waterlogged and swampy bottoms of streams, gullies, etc.). This map was to be used by developers until 2020. After that, a new one should be developed.
In addition, in Moldova, back in 2014, the program of passportization of the entire housing stock was approved by a government decree. According to this document, existing buildings and structures should undergo periodic inspection of their technical condition and identification of the level of their seismic protection. On this basis, decisions are made to demolish unsatisfactory and strengthen weakened facilities. More than 10 years have passed, but nothing has been done. This activity is expensive and the budget, as usual, does not have enough money for it.
Currently, new buildings are also required to have an energy efficiency certificate. However, according to Veacheslav Shipitca, this requirement will be introduced from April 2027.
“When approving the Urban Development Code, we made it mandatory to have an energy efficiency certificate when granting authorization for construction. But, based on the fact that the software was not ready, this requirement was postponed until April 2027 in order not to aggravate the situation in the real estate market,” he said.
According to experts, buildings with high energy efficiency coefficient will be more expensive, which will affect the cost of housing. The practice of Romania and other countries has shown that the appearance of such buildings will lead to a redistribution of price segments in the housing market.
