In 2020-2022 within the framework of contracts with the EIB and the EBRD, Apă-Canal Chișinău made inefficient expenses for 3 million 922.7 thousand euros (79 million lei).
According to the NAER's report on the results of monitoring the licensed activities carried out by Apă-Canal Chișinău for 2020-2022, this expense was caused by inefficient management of contracts with the EBRD and EIB, especially due to the inability to comply with contractual terms and conditions, as well as delays in the implementation of investment projects and failure to repay loans on time. The originally planned period for the development of investments is 2015-2020 extended until 2023. As of January 1, 2023, unfinished investments (in progress) amounted to 755.1 million lei, which is 3.7 times more than investments made in 2020-2022. Also, NAER experts came to the conclusion that Apă-Canal Chișinău is exposed to a serious risk of insolvency on maturing bonds. As of December 31, 2022, the balance of funds was 13.1 million lei, and bonds with redemption - 692.6 million lei. Another conclusion of the report was that, after negligence in the planning process, changes in investment plans and subsequent inclusion in the Investment Report, Apă-Canal Chișinău missed the opportunity to recover an investment of 47 million lei through regulated tariffs. In addition, the operator did not fulfill its obligation to annually submit the necessary documents for updating tariffs and missed the inclusion of about 13 million lei in the main costs taken when calculating the tariff for water supply and sewerage services. It is also noted that in 2020-2022 the company did not apply the principle of maximum efficiency to the minimum costs for the acquisition of material goods, allowing inefficient expenses in the amount of 3.4 million lei. In addition, the necessary measures were not taken to reduce water losses in the system in order to improve the efficiency of public water supply and sewerage systems. As a result, technological consumption and water losses were significantly higher than those approved by NAER (by 88.5% in 2020, by 75.3% in 2021 and approximately by 73.5% in 2022), which resulted in to unjustified expenses (not included in the tariff) in the amount of 44.9 million lei. NAER obliged the leadership of Apă-Canal Chișinău to take measures within 3 months to correct the identified shortcomings, including ensuring the continuity of the provision of water supply and sewerage services. The report will be submitted for consideration to the Prosecutor General's Office and the Chisinau Municipal Council.// 07.07.2023 — InfoMarket
