Moldova intends to transition from a general business support framework to a specialized model for supporting large-scale investment projects. The draft investment law introduces the status of “strategic investment,” expedited permitting procedures, land and potential local tax incentives, and—for projects valued at €50 million or more—the option to enter into an investment agreement with the government.
If the law is passed, the government will gain additional tools to attract large-scale capital. At the same time, a key question arises: Is the investment amount and the project’s affiliation with a specific industry sufficient to justify the free use of state-owned land, local tax breaks, and individual agreements with the government?
The bill establishes three main thresholds. An investment of at least €10 million may be considered strategic if the project is implemented in one of the sectors listed in the law. These include research and development, information technology, electronics, pharmaceuticals, mechanical engineering, energy, transportation, telecommunications, healthcare, waste processing, semiconductor manufacturing, decarbonization technologies, and energy storage.
The list focuses primarily on industries with technological potential and high added value, but remains quite broad. The basic requirements for obtaining this status will be compliance with the industry list and meeting the minimum investment threshold. The bill does not set mandatory targets for the number of jobs, wage levels, exports, tax revenues, or technology transfer.
Strategic projects will be able to undergo administrative and permitting procedures on an expedited basis. The Investment Agency is to serve as the single point of contact for investors, while the Environmental Agency is to provide a one-stop shop for obtaining environmental permits.
The total time required to issue permits for most such projects should not exceed 12 months. However, the time required to conduct an environmental impact assessment is not included in this period. Therefore, the actual duration of the preparation process will depend not only on the efficiency of the one-stop shop but also on the complexity of the project and the necessary environmental procedures.
The next threshold is €25 million. For investors of this scale, state-owned land may be transferred from the private sector of state property for free use or under a superficies right for a term of up to 49 years—without rent or annual royalties. This does not involve transferring ownership of the land, but rather granting the right to use it for the project.
The bill also allows for an exemption from compensation for losses incurred when agricultural land is reclassified into another category. Exemptions from property tax and local fees for the issuance of urban planning certificates and building permits may be granted only with the consent of local authorities.
For investors, this means lower initial costs and a potentially faster project launch. For the state and municipalities, it means forgoing a portion of potential revenue and the alternative use of the land. Therefore, the stated investment amount alone does not yet indicate how beneficial such support will be for the economy.
The actual impact depends on what the state receives in return: new production facilities, jobs, exports, tax revenues, technology, infrastructure, or increased business activity in a specific region. These results must be commensurate with the cost of the incentives and public resources provided, although the bill itself does not establish a mandatory set of such indicators.
For projects costing at least €50 million, the government will be able to enter into a separate agreement with the investor. This agreement must specify the terms of the project’s implementation, the obligations of the parties, and the forms of government support to be provided. For the investor, this mechanism can reduce regulatory risks and increase the predictability of conditions over the long term.
However, the government has yet to establish the procedures for drafting these agreements, their content, and the mechanism for monitoring compliance. This is where the main risk lies. If the benefits granted and the investor’s corresponding obligations are not public, measurable, and comparable, individual agreements could place large companies in a privileged position relative to other market participants.
Investment incentives must comply with competition and state aid laws. They may be combined with other support measures only within the limits of the established maximum aid intensity. The bill also provides protection against the arbitrary revocation of benefits already granted: changes must apply prospectively and include a reasonable transition period.
Companies whose projects fall below the €10 million threshold will not be eligible for the special regime. For them, the quality of standard permitting procedures, the availability of infrastructure, the functioning of the judicial system, and the predictability of tax policy will continue to be decisive factors.
Therefore, the success of the reform will not be determined by the number of projects granted strategic status or by the volume of declared investments. The key factor will be the ratio between the cost of the benefits provided and the actual benefit to the economy. A special treatment regime is justified only when the investor’s commitments are specific, the results are measurable, and government support is transparent. The consequences of failing to fulfill these commitments—including the possible termination of support or the repayment of benefits received—have yet to be defined in the rules governing the conclusion of investment agreements. //August 27, 2026 – InfoMarket.