VIDEO // Moldova to have single structure for implementing strategic projects

The government will establish the Moldova Project institution, which will be responsible for implementing strategic projects. Prime Minister Vasile Tofan justified the decision by saying that major infrastructure projects must be implemented quickly and efficiently. The new institution will be headed by Mircea Esanu, the current director of the Public Services Agency (ASP).

“We can do much more and much faster—hospitals, irrigation systems, logistics infrastructure, energy projects and other projects that are important for the economy and for people. That is why, we are creating Moldova Project—a single structure for implementing the government’s strategic projects,” Vasile Tofan said.





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According to the prime minister, the analyses carried out have revealed that the lengthy implementation of major projects is most often caused by weak implementation capacity.

“Moldova needs major projects, and they must move quickly, not over decades. For more than ten years, we have been talking about modern regional hospitals in Balti and Cahul, irrigation projects in the south, an airport in the north and transport infrastructure. The project for a modern penitentiary in Chisinau began in 2013 and has still not been completed. And these are not the only examples. Together with the team, I analyzed why it takes us so long to take major projects from idea to construction. Often, the problem is not a lack of money, but weak implementation capacity: responsibilities divided among too many institutions, too few specialists and projects moving forward too slowly,” the prime minister emphasized.

The official noted that the new institution would a small and highly capable team made up of engineers, project managers, specialists in procurement and tenders, contract management, finance and law.

“People who know how to properly prepare a project, organize procurement professionally, monitor the works and, most importantly, bring them to completion,” the official said.

In creating the new institution, Moldova analyzed the experience of other countries, including Lithuania, Ireland and Montenegro.

“We are not inventing the model from scratch. We are drawing inspiration from the experience of such countries as Lithuania, Ireland and Montenegro, which have concentrated their implementation capacity for important projects,” Vasile Tofan said.

At the same time, the prime minister announced that Mircea Esanu, the current director of the Public Services Agency, would be proposed to lead the new institution.

“To build this institution, we will propose Mircea Esanu, the current director of the Public Services Agency, to lead it. At the ASP, the results are visible. The institution issues one million identity cards free of charge to citizens. A passport can be issued in four hours, and a birth certificate can be downloaded and printed at home— a standard that many EU countries can only dream of. Mircea Esanu has demonstrated that he can modernize an institution and that he does not shy away from difficult problems. That is exactly what we need at Moldova Project,” the prime minister emphasized.

The PM added that, during the creation of Moldova Project, the authorities would focus on consolidating functions from other existing implementation units, with the aim of saving resources.

“Therefore, the intention is to save money, not spend more. The objective is simple: fewer projects that remain on paper for years and more hospitals, roads, irrigation systems, logistics and energy connections built properly, on time, and at a fair cost,” Vasile Tofan concluded.

The structure of the new institution is to be finalized and submitted for approval at government meeting in the coming weeks.