More than half of Central Region has water supply - ADR Center director says

Exclusive interview for MOLDPRES State News Agency by Pavel Trofin, Director of the Regional Development Agency (ADR) Center

MOLDPRES: How do you assess the socio-economic situation in the region you are managing?

Pavel Trofin: The Development Region (DR) Center comprises 13 districts, being the region with the most territorial-administrative units of the second level. In RD Center the majority of the population (about 63%) live in localities of up to 5 thousand inhabitants. The largest city in the region is Ungheni, with a population of about 38.3 thousand inhabitants.

The socio-economic situation of the Central Development Region (DRC) is not very specific compared to the other regions, so the intra-regional discrepancies are not significant. The share of GDP (Gross Domestic Product) in the DRC has decreased from 15.2% in 2013 to 14.7% in 2018. Overall, over the last 5-6 years, all regions of the country have seen modest development performance, facing with major socio-economic challenges.

The relatively better performance of the DRC is mainly due to the proximity to Chisinau, which has influenced a higher investment dynamism. Over the last 9 years, the number of economic agents in the region has increased (by 2 percentage points), which has led to an increase in the share of the number of employees in the country from 17% to 18%. At the same time, the share of the region as a whole in turnover increased from 9% in 2010 to 12.4% in 2019.

Not insignificant is the significant industrial growth of the region (mainly due to foreign investment in the Ungheni FEZ), which led to an increase in the share of the DRC in the total volume of industrial production delivered in the country from 14.3% in 2010 to 19% in 2019. From the point of view of the economic development of SMEs, in the last 5 years the region has registered an increased dynamics compared to the other areas, both in terms of sales revenue, number of enterprises and in terms of number of employees.

At the same time, in terms of endowment with water supply and sewerage infrastructure, in 2019 the region was covered at a level of 58% by the public water supply system, which is a rate 7% higher than the average by country (51%), and regarding the share of localities with access to the public sewerage system, we register about 7.3% of the total localities in the region, approximately identical to the national average.

Also, in terms of the number of people receiving household waste collection services, the region has a share of 17% at the country level, below the level of coverage in the Northern Region, but significantly above the level of other regions.

MOLDPRES: Where do you think there is a need to step up work and what are the sectors that do not show great chances of success?

P.T .: An urgent need for the localities of the region is the provision of a centralized sewerage system, a particularly problematic aspect for all areas of the country. Ensuring the water supply component without providing the sewerage component in parallel creates serious environmental problems, as the discharge of domestic and technical water into the environment increases significantly as the volume of water used increases.

Another priority direction at the regional level, also related to the environment in which we live, is solid waste management, in particular ensuring centralized waste collection, construction of regional landfills, waste sorting and, respectively, the disposal of unauthorized and hazardous waste for the environment and health. population.

No less important for the socio-economic development of the region, for the economic and demographic consolidation of the population is to increase the number of accessible jobs for large sections of society, so that our Moldovans want to stay at home, to have at least a decent income. both for them and for their families. Thus, the development of business support infrastructures (business incubators, entrepreneurial development centers, etc.), as well as the cultivation of the entrepreneurial capacities of the population (both urban and rural) and the creation of conditions for the association of entrepreneurs must be a priority direction for any local, district, regional and national authority. I would like to mention here that recently approved by the Government, the National Strategy for Regional Development 2022-2028 has set as a priority direction (the first of the three) - increasing the competitiveness and employment of the regions.

MOLDPRES: Name three plausible reasons why someone who would like to settle in Moldova should choose the region you represent?

P.T .: Our region is the largest, the largest of the country's regions, or in it we can encounter extremely diverse and inhomogeneous socio-economic situations, which means that the question cannot have an unambiguous answer. The goals and selection criteria that one person or another has are essential for choosing a place to live. From the benefits we can list:

1. The Central Region has a number of economic areas and sub-domains that contribute significantly to regional GDP and have a major potential for recovery, according to a study conducted in 2017 at national and regional level: (a) agriculture and food processing, ( (b) forestry, logging and the timber industry; (c) the manufacture of textiles, knitted and crocheted clothing, footwear, (d) basic pharmaceuticals and pharmaceutical preparations; and plaster. At the same time, a high potential for cluster formation is held by the field of meat processing and the field of textile manufacturing.

2. Objectives and tourist routes of great value, multiple possibilities of comfortable accommodation.

3. Neighborhood with the country's capital, easy access to quality services and products.

I would also name some of the positive records of the districts in our region. For example, Ungheni district has the most young teachers (a plus for young teachers looking for a suitable environment and positive experience for professional development) and the most active users of libraries, Orhei district is the district with the most enterprises (2018) , Călărași district is the district that used the least fertilizers in the agricultural activity, in Ialoveni district most of the houses were built, Anenii Noi can be proud of the fact that it is the largest meat producer in the country, and Hâncești produces most pasta in the country (about 50% of the total).

MOLDPRES: And vice versa - three reasons why you should avoid it?

P.T .: The demographic crisis is "at home" in Moldova, our region being no exception, unfortunately. Thus, in the last decade, both the stable and the current population have registered a negative dynamic, a process that has and will have fundamental negative effects on the main indicators of socio-economic development. As an example, the activity rate and the employment rate have decreased drastically in the region, and the unemployment rate has practically doubled (from 3% in 2014 to 6% in 2019). We also have anti-records: Orhei is the district with the most retirees (over 23 thousand), and Anenii Noi district has the highest level of pollution (over 1200 tons of air pollutants, 2019).

M: What can the people of the region expect in the next two years?

PT: Speaking in terms of the Single Program Document, recently approved for the period 2022-2024, the Center Development Region will benefit from the implementation of 16 projects in various fields of intervention with a total amount of about 900 million lei, including the contribution from local public administrations. Thus, the region will benefit from the implementation of nine projects in the field of water supply, two projects in the field of increasing the population's access to centralized sewerage systems, four projects in the field of increasing tourist attractiveness and one project in the field of urban revitalization.

No less important for the next period is the completion of energy efficiency projects of four educational institutions in the region, the implementation of two projects in the field of water supply and sewerage in Straseni and Calarasi, projects implemented with the financial assistance of the European Union. The city of Rezina will also benefit from SlovakAid sources by extending the sewerage system to a residential area of ​​the city. From EU sources, two projects in the field of tourism are currently being implemented: the project "MuseumInfo Tur - Enhancing the visibility of cultural and historical heritage within the cross-border network of museums - Tourist Information Centers" and the project "Connecting companies for growth exports in the tourism sector ”. Of particular note is the acceleration of the implementation of the major project with inter-district impact "Improvement of water infrastructure in Central Moldova" which is largely funded by the German government (KfW bank) and targets in the first stage about 30 thousand beneficiaries from the districts of Straseni and Calarasi.

MOLDPRES: Thank you for your answers and good luck!