
Funding for local and regional projects in Moldova will be provided by the National Fund for Regional and Local Development (NFRLD).
The government approved the corresponding bill at a meeting on Wednesday. Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Infrastructure and Regional Development Andrei Spinu said the new structure will operate on the basis of the National Fund for Regional Development and will take care of regional and local development projects. According to him, the main goal of the draft law is to create a single source of financing regional and local investment projects (enhancement of competitiveness and employment in regions, urban development and socio-economic rehabilitation of cities, improvement of regional and local infrastructure etc.). For example, water and sewage projects, which are currently financed from the National Environmental Fund; energy projects (financed from the Energy Efficiency Fund); projects related to rural development (implemented through the National Fund for Agriculture and Rural Development) will be financed from the NFRLD. In 2022, the size of the NFRLD is expected to be about 800 million lei. Of these, about 300 million lei will be used for regional development projects oriented to creation of jobs in development regions, urban development, improvement of regional infrastructure, and 500 million lei will be used for local development projects (construction and repairs of social infrastructure - schools, culture houses, playgrounds, etc.; modernization of water and sewage systems; implementation of projects with external financing). After the law is approved in Parliament, the government will draw up a regulation on the functioning of the NFRLD, and in February 2022 it is planned to announce a call for applications for local government projects. Spinu urged all mayoralties in the country to prepare projects and the necessary technical documentation in order to apply. At the same time, the government approved a bill to amend certain regulations that will regulate the financing of regional and local projects. At the same time, there will be ensured a stricter monitoring of the NFRLD funds to prevent duplication of funding of investment projects simultaneously from several sources. It is envisaged that all the projects launched before the creation of the new fund, which are financed from the National Environmental Fund, the Energy Efficiency Fund and the National Fund for Agricultural and Rural Development, will be implemented in accordance with previously approved procedures. // 23.12.2021 – InfoMarket