The National Fund for Regional and Local Development to be established in Moldova.
This is provided for by the corresponding bill passed by the Parliament in the second reading on Thursday. According to the document, the new Fund will become a source of financing for investment projects of local authorities in the field of energy, rural development, water supply and sanitation, local infrastructure and other areas, which have so far been implemented through 5 existing national funds: the National Ecological Fund, the National Regional Development Fund, the Road Fund, National Fund for Agricultural and Rural Development, Energy Efficiency Fund. The new structure will work on the basis of the National Regional Development Fund, and projects of regional and local development will be transferred to it. In addition, the National Fund for Regional and Local Development, which is being created, will co-finance projects funded by external partners. As Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Infrastructure and Regional Development Andrei Spinu noted earlier, the creation of the National Fund for Regional and Local Development will create a single source of financing for investment projects of regional and local importance aimed at increasing competitiveness and employment in the regions, urban development and socio-economic recovery of cities, improvement of regional and local infrastructure, etc. For example, the National Fund for Regional and Local Development (NFRLD) will finance water supply and sanitation projects currently funded by the National Environment Fund; energy projects (financed from the Energy Efficiency Fund); projects related to rural development (implemented at the expense of the National Fund for Agricultural and Rural Development). It is expected that in 2022 the size of the NFRLD will be about 800 million lei. Of these, about 300 million lei will be used for regional development projects focused on creating jobs in development regions, urban planning, improving the infrastructure of the regions, and 500 million lei will be directed to local development projects (construction and repair of social infrastructure - schools, cultural centers, playgrounds, etc.; modernization of water supply and sewerage systems; implementation of projects with attraction of external financing). It is planned that the government will develop a regulation on the functioning of the NFRLD, and subsequently will announce the call for applications for local government projects. Andrei Spinu urged all city halls of the country to prepare projects and the necessary technical documentation in order to submit applications. Strict monitoring of NFRLD funds will be ensured in order to prevent duplication of funding for investment projects from several sources. It is envisaged that all projects launched before the creation of the new Fund, which are financed from the National Ecological Fund, the Energy Efficiency Fund and the National Fund for Agricultural and Rural Development, will be implemented in accordance with previously approved procedures. The financial resources of the National Fund for Regional and Local Development will be annually approved by the Law on the State Budget. // 10.02.2022 - InfoMarket.
