Moldova: The construction of the 400 kV Vulcanesti-Chisinau high-voltage overhead power line has been acknowledged as a project of national importance.
Particularly, the Parliament adopted on Thursday in second reading a draft law on the declaration of public utility of national importance of the construction of the 400 kV overhead transmission line Vulcanesti-Chisinau and the back-to-back station in Vulcanesti. The law, approved by voices of 59 MPs, regulates the mechanism of solving complaints on ensuring and monitoring the environmental and social impact of the planned works. The bill provides for implementation of the first stage of the 260 million euros worth project of national importance to interconnect the Moldovan and Romanian power grids, whose goal is to ensure energy security by connecting Moldova to the European Union energy market and to strengthen the national power transmission networks. The project is to be implemented until 2024, with support of EBRD (80 million euros loan), EIB (80 million euros loan), International Development Association of the World Bank Group (61 million euros loan) and European Union (39.4 million euros grant). The project "Interconnection of the electricity nets of Moldova and Romania, 1st stage" provides for the construction of a 158 km Vulcanesti-Chisinau 400 kV power line, construction of a back-to-back converter station in Vulcanesti, to ensure the connection between the Moldovan energy system, the European network of the transmission system operators ENTSO-E and the Integrated power system/Unified power system (IPS/ UPS); modernization and extension of the existing stations in Chisinau and Vulcanesti 400 kV. At the same time, Andrei Spinu, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Infrastructure and Regional Development said earlier that since power grids of Moldova and Ukraine have recently been synchronized with ENTSO-E, there may be no need to build back-to-back stations. According to him, this issue has yet to be discussed in detail by specialists to adopt a final decision. Since the aforementioned works for the construction of the 400 kV Vulcanesti-Chisinau transmission line and the back-to-back station in Vulcanesti will be carried out on land owned by the state, local state administration and private individuals and legal entities, a law on the proclamation of public utility of national importance for the construction of the transmission line and station in Vulcanesti needed to be passed in order to move the project forward more quickly, ensure expropriation of the land needed for construction, payment of compensations, etc. The Government, on behalf of the state, will start the procedure of acquiring the land needed for the construction and will allocate the necessary financial resources to develop and implement the Action Plan for the resettlement and compensation for the permanent and temporary expropriation of the land needed for the construction and operation of the 400 kV Vulcanesti - Chisinau transmission line and back-to-back station in Vulcanesti. So far, the forecast of the total budget for expropriation procedures related to the project for the entire period of its implementation is estimated as follows: compensation payments to the affected - 20 million lei, cadastral services - 12 million lei. The objects of expropriation, determined in accordance with the feasibility study, necessary for the above mentioned construction works, are: real estate, privately owned and owned by administrative-territorial units, related to the above mentioned project, located outside or inside the following settlements: ATU Gagauzia (city of Vulcanesti, villages Dezghingea, Congazcicul de Sus, Chirsovo, Congaz, Svetlii), Cahul district (villages Borceag, Iujnoe, Burlaceni), Taraclia district (villages Albota de Sus, Albota de Jos, Balabanu, Novoselovca, Aluatu, Salcia, Musaitu, Vinogradovca), Leova district (Borogani), Cimishlia district (Cimislia town, Ivanovca Nouă, Gura Galbenei, Gradiste, Valea Perjei, Ecaterinovca, Javgur, Cenac villages), Hincesti district (Buteni and Firladeni villages), Ialoveni district (Zimbreni, Costesti, Hansca, Molesti villages) and Chisinau municipality (Bacioi village). // 12.05.2022 – InfoMarket
