Cabinet gives 40 mln lei for elevator replacement
The program will increase the safety and accessibility of elevators for residents. As Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Infrastructure and Regional Development Volodymyr Bolya noted when presenting the program, it was a response to a shaft of appeals from apartment owners’ associations, which repeatedly warned the authorities about the risks of unsatisfactory technical condition of elevators.
Most of them are outdated, the deputy prime minister said. In Cahul there are about 20 elevators with an average age of 15-20 years, although the housing stock there is relatively new. In other cities the situation is more complicated. In Orhei there are 230 elevators with an average age of 25-30 years. The problem is getting worse every year. The number of elevators that are beyond their useful life increases by about 150-200 annually.
The elevators operate “on Soviet-style equipment”
Vladimir Bolya emphasized that many old elevators still work on energy-intensive equipment of the Soviet model, noisy and far from modern standards. Modern elevators have lower energy consumption, according to the estimates presented by the Minister, by about 40%. This has a direct impact on the bills of tenants who pay for energy costs.
Apartment owner associations can apply for the program. Each of them can participate with a project for only one apartment building. Applications for projects will be open from April 1 through April 30. Documents must be submitted online for a transparent process that will be done on a first-come, first-served basis.
Projects will be analyzed taking into account a number of criteria: the degree of wear and tear of the elevator, the presence in the house of elderly people or people with disabilities, the number of families with children. Depending on the technical condition, some elevators will be repaired and others will be replaced.
According to the Ministry’s estimates, the cost of a new elevator of the latest generation is about 700-800 thousand lei. The overhaul may cost half of this amount.
At the end of the pilot, the need for investments will be assessed in order to expand the program to the national level in the following years.
