Government to provide 6.5 billion lei to amalgamated localities

The Government is making available to town halls that complete the voluntary amalgamation process an incentive package totaling 6.5 billion lei. Local authorities are encouraged to prepare well‑grounded projects in advance so that financing for infrastructure development can begin in 2027.

At a press conference, Secretary General of the Government Alexei Buzu said that the local public administration reform aims to create stronger town halls, capable of solving community problems and providing better services to citizens: “The money is available. Now it is important for town halls to complete the amalgamation process and prepare clear, mature and useful projects for people. Investments must go where they solve real problems and create better living conditions.”

Town halls that voluntarily merge their administrations can benefit from three types of incentives. The first is a preparation incentive, ranging from 400,000 to 1 million lei, intended for feasibility studies, technical projects, consultancy and the creation of Unified Service Delivery Centers. So far, 104 town halls have requested this support, and 83 have already received it.

The second is a development incentive, worth 3,000 lei for each inhabitant of the new administrative‑territorial unit. It will be available starting in 2027 and may be used exclusively by town halls that have completed voluntary amalgamation. For example, the group of localities in Rîșcani could receive about 72.7 million lei, the group in Strășeni about 68.7 million lei, and the one in Fălești about 64.9 million lei.

The third incentive consists of annual transfers ranging from 500,000 to 2 million lei, granted in the period 2028–2030 for institutional development and strengthening the administrative capacity of the new town halls. The estimated budget for this measure is approximately 1 billion lei. 

Minister of Infrastructure and Regional Development Vladimir Bolea stressed that the year 2026 must be used to prepare projects that will be able to receive funding starting from 2027. Projects will be selected based on their degree of preparation, number of beneficiaries, impact and the town hall’s capacity to maintain the investment in the long term.

Priority will be given to the following projects: water and sewage systems, roads and bridges, public lighting, energy efficiency of buildings, modernization of education, health, culture and social assistance institutions, sanitation services and the development of public spaces.

“We are moving from the administrative decision to the investment that changes the life of the community. Amalgamation must be measured by the number of problems solved: by roads that connect localities, services that reach more citizens and investments that work in the long term. We will not finance isolated projects, chosen just because they look good on paper. We will focus on their value for the community,” said Bolea.

Town halls with sufficient experience and qualified staff will be able to implement projects directly, based on contracts concluded with the Ministry of Infrastructure and Regional Development (MIDR). Those that do not have specialized teams will benefit from the support of Regional Development Agencies for procurement, supervision of works and execution of payments.

Next week, the Ministry of Infrastructure and Regional Development will organize consultations with the mayors of localities that have gone through the amalgamation process. The discussions will focus on projects already prepared, community priorities and possible bottlenecks in implementation.