For the first time, Moldova and Romania have developed joint transport infrastructure projects to be funded by the EU.
The Moldovan Ministry of Infrastructure and Regional Development reported this, noting that the first 2 Moldovan-Romanian financing projects, which will contribute to the development of transport infrastructure on both Romanian and Moldovan sides, were presented under the Connecting Europe Facility/CEF program. Funding is intended for the development of cross-border infrastructure Ungheni (Romania) - Ungheni (Moldova) and Albita (Romania) - Leuseni (Moldova). The total cost of the first joint Moldovan-Romanian project in Ungheni amounts to 66 million 372 thousand 078 euros, of which European Union's contribution will account for 33 million 186 thousand 039 euros (without VAT). The project envisages that the Romanian side will ensure the development of connections to the existing road infrastructure in Romania by upgrading the DJ249A road to a national road, which will connect to a new bridge over the Prut River, already approved with CEF funding. This infrastructure will also function after connecting the bridge from Ungheni to the A8 freeway as a road interchange with the nearby national road. The purchase and installation of equipment at the border crossing point is foreseen. For Moldova it is envisaged the construction of access infrastructure between the new bridge in Ungheni and the existing road network, as well as the border crossing in the Republic of Moldova, and the purchase and installation of equipment for the border crossing. The total value of the second joint project Albita-Leuseni is 19 million 653 thousand 952 euro, of which the EU's contribution is 9 million 826 thousand 976 euro (without VAT). At the same time, the Ministry of Transport of Romania is preparing technical documentation for the new bridge over the Prut to replace the existing one, with 2 lanes of traffic in each direction, which will also be offered for financing from the CEF program. For Moldova, the project provides for the development of infrastructure and access road to the bridge Albita-Leuseni: extension of the road to 4 lanes of traffic for about 1 km (taking into account the extension of the bridge project being developed by the Romanian authorities); optimization of traffic by upgrading the existing equipment at the checkpoint, which will be operated by representatives of the Customs Service of Moldova. After the implementation of the mentioned projects, the infrastructure capacity, interoperability and efficiency of border crossing services between the main customs offices of Moldova and Romania - Ungheni-Ungheni and Albita-Leuseni will be improved in accordance with the regulations in force. // 26.01.2023 - InfoMarket.
