A group of journalists from national, regional and local media outlets visited on Tuesday, 19 June three localities from the North of Moldova, where the North Regional Development Agency (RDA) has implemented/is implementing regional development projects financed from the National Fund for Regional Development (NFRD) sources and by the German Government.

The study visit for the journalists was organised by the Ministry of Agriculture, Regional Development and Environment (MARDE) and North RDA with the support of the ‘Modernization of Local Public Services in the Republic of Moldova’ (MLPS) project implemented by the German Development Cooperation through GIZ.

BALTI. Journalists visited first the North RDA office in Balti. On this occasion the interim director of North RDA Ion Iliev thanked the journalists for their interest in the study visit to North Development Region. ‘With your help, of the journalists, the results and impact of our projects can be brought into the home of each citizen. As we have what to tell the citizens and because North RDA is a transparent institution, we have always facilitated our dialogue with the representatives of media outlets. We are open further to collaborate with journalists in order to quickly and efficiently disseminate information of public interest we have’, mentioned the North RDA interim director.

COSTESTI. Costesti town and Duruitoarea Veche village from Riscani rayon were the first localities visited by the journalists, where North RDA implemented the pilot project ‘Improvement of water supply and sanitation services in Riscani rayon’, financed from the German Government sources through the MLPS project.  As a result of several investments and activities carried out in 2011-2016, in the amount of around MDL 19.49 million (including the contribution of Riscani Rayon Council – MDL 120.000 and contribution of Duruitoarea Veche village inhabitants –  MDL 102.000), Duruitoarea Veche village has 7.5 km of water supply networks and 9.7 km of sewage networks, whereas the Costesti town sewage networks were extended by 11 km. Also, in Costesti a waste water treatment plant was installed with a capacity of 150 m3/24 h, which ensures the treatment of domestic waste water from Duruitoarea village and Costesti town. Similarly, the head office of MEPD ‘Apa-Canal Costesti’, with a surface of 200 m2, was rehabilitated and 6 units of specialised equipment were procured for the water supply and sanitation service operator.

In this context, the mayor of Costesti, Nelu Glasu mentioned that in the Duruitoarea Veche village there is a greater interest from young families to buy houses there and that the birth rate has grown slightly in the last years.

EDINET. The Industrial Parc (IP) ‘Edinet’ from Edinet municipality, was the second destination visited by journalists.  In 2014-2016, North RDA implemented there the project ‘Connection of Industrial Parc ‘Edinet’ to access infrastructure and public utilities’, in the total amount of MDL 12.293 million allocated by NFRD. As a result of this investment IP ‘Edinet’ has been connected to engineering networks. Thus, were constructed 0,24 km of water supply system, 1,76 km of sewage system, 0,35 km of gas pipeline, a pumping station and IP administration building with a surface of 514 m2.

Currently, there are five residents operating at the IP ‘Edinet’, among which there is a plant producing apple juice concentrates working on biofuel managed by the ‘T.B Fruit’ company group, as well as an IT company.  According to IP ‘Edinet’ administrator, the plant managed by ‘T.B Fruit’ company group has provided hundreds of jobs in the region, in particular for regional farmers.
The mayor of Edinet municipality, Constantin Cojocaru mentioned that IP ‘Edinet’ aim is a balanced development of the region’s towns, increasing investment attractiveness and providing quality services to citizens.

IP ‘Edinet’ was inaugurated in October 2013 as part of the first edition of the ‘Days of North Development Region’.

DROCHIA. The Health Centre ‘Anatolie Manziuc’ from Drochia town was the third destination of the study visit, where North RDA currently implements an energy efficiency project. The project was launched in 2017 and will contribute to the energy efficiency of the Health Centre ‘Anatolie Manziuc’ building with 21% annually and to the improvement of services related to medical diagnostic and enhancement of health indicators in the region. Also, it will promote and increase the awareness of the projects’ beneficiaries with regard to energy efficiency. The works under the projects resumed in March according to the implementation plan. Until now, for the works related to reconstruction of roof, thermal insulation of exterior walls and change of windows and doors around MDL 6.14 million were spent (63% of total budget). The total value of the project amounts to approx. MDL 9.67 million applied for from NFRD.

Ion Urușciuc, specialist in communication, North RDA: ‘This is the third study visit of journalists in the North Region. Due to this the visibility of projects carried out by North RDA gets better every time. We are open to collaborate with the journalists and even create partnerships. We have interesting subjects which should be brought to the attention of the public’.

Lilia Grubai, reporter, Press Agency ‘Moldpres’: ‘A lot of wonderful things, necessary for the communities are being done in the North Region. Perhaps because of the remoteness, a lot of them are not known. As part of this visit, I had the opportunity to see on the spot what is done and how. The pleasure is double as the programmes of one important external partner – German Government are durable. You can better write about local projects, after you have seen them with your own eyes, have interviewed those working on the construction site. In this respect I am grateful to our colleagues in GIZ for this possibility’.

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The project ‘Modernization of Local Public Services in the Republic of Moldova’ (MLPS) is implemented by the German Development Cooperation through GIZ in partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture, Regional Development and Environment and is financially supported by the German Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the European Union, the Romanian Government, the Swedish Government and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC).