The government has approved a loan agreement between the Republic of Moldova and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development for the implementation of a sustainable water supply project for irrigation purposes. The project’s indicative budget is around €130 million (in the form of loans and grants through the ‘Reform and Growth Facility for the Republic of Moldova’). As part of the project, two centralised irrigation systems will be modernised, capable of supplying water to almost 7,000 hectares of agricultural land.
The period of validity of coordinated controls at the Leușeni-Albița border crossing point will be extended from six to 12 months. The government has approved the initiation of negotiations with Romania and the signing of a protocol to amend the agreement on coordinated controls on Romanian territory, on the route into Romania.
Problems with wheat exports from the Black Sea region are having an increasingly significant impact not only on trade volumes but also on the quality of food-grade grain available on the global market. Replacing Black Sea supplies with grain from other regions of the world may not fully compensate for the shortfall in high-protein wheat.
The Chisinau City Council reports that at 24 Miorita Street, in the Centre sector, work on the construction of a new car park is approximately 50 per cent complete.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry (MAIA) is considering the possibility of reviving the process of establishing agricultural chambers. This time, there would be three – one each for the hypothetical Northern, Central and Southern regions of the country.
The reform of second-tier local public administration involves a transition from 32 districts to three regions — North, Centre and South — and three municipalities, including Taraclia. Chișinău, Bălți and the Gagauz Autonomous Territorial Unit (UTA) will retain their special status. Some of the districts’ powers will be transferred to local councils, whilst others will be taken over by central authorities. The proposal promises to maintain local services, but leaves questions unanswered regarding funding, representation and the future of Transnistria.
The audit identified issues with the implementation of the ‘Modernisation of Infrastructure under the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF)’ project, with a total value of approximately €14.6 million, which is 50 per cent grant-funded and 50 per cent loan-funded.
Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev will hold an emergency meeting on Tuesday following a drone attack on two commercial vessels in Bulgaria’s exclusive economic zone in the Black Sea. According to the authorities, one vessel sank, whilst the other caught fire after being struck.
Work on developing new car parks is continuing in the capital. Chisinau City Hall reports that, at 24 Miorita Street, work on the new car park is approximately 50 per cent complete. As part of the project, paving stones are being laid across an area of around 2,300 m² to create approximately 70 parking spaces.
A special committee could be set up in Parliament to examine the situation regarding the decline in the flow of the River Dniester and to assess the conditions for supplying water to the river basin from the Novodnestrovsk reservoir in Ukraine.
