500 million lei for local road construction

Approximately 500 million lei will be invested this year in the construction and modernization of about 130 km of roads and sidewalks in 100 localities across the country. The investments will be made under the government program Europe is Near. Deputy Prime Minister Vladimir Bolea today urged mayors to conduct consultations with villagers to jointly decide which projects should be submitted for funding, based on priorities and people's needs.


"In discussions with villagers, one of the main issues identified was road infrastructure, specifically the lack of bridges, local roads, or sidewalks. In the villages of Moldova, there are about 30,000 km of roads, which over the past 33 years have either been underdeveloped or not developed at all due to limited financial resources. By listening to and consulting with people in Moldova's villages, we decided that in 2025 we will develop a new measure, for the first time in rural development programs, namely the measure of local road development. In the first phase, we have offered 500 million lei for the construction of local roads," announced Vladimir Bolea.


He said that mayors must organize discussions and consultations with people to jointly decide which projects are priority, which will then be submitted for funding.


"One of the most innovative aspects is that we have left it to the discretion of the villages, the people, to decide how these funds will be invested. Mayors need to consult with people and together establish what their priorities are," he said.


The decision was made after, previously, in some localities, projects were implemented based on decisions by mayors or local councils without considering the priorities of the villagers, stated Vladimir Bolea.



Through the program, city halls will be able to apply for local road construction projects by arranging the foundation layer and applying two layers of asphalt concrete or replacing the road surface layer by milling the damaged layer and applying a new asphalt concrete layer. They will also be able to opt for projects to arrange sidewalks or bicycle lanes with paving slabs/asphalt concrete.

The maximum ceiling for each project will be 10 million lei. Thus, small localities with up to 1,500 inhabitants can apply for funding of up to 2 million lei. Localities with up to 1,500 residents undergoing voluntary amalgamation can apply for funding of up to 5 million lei, while localities with over 1,500 inhabitants can obtain funding of up to 9 million lei, ensuring a 10% contribution.

Applications can be submitted through the Regional and Local Development Programs and Projects Management Information System.