Creation of Office for Implementation of Strategic National Infrastructure Projects approved by Government

The Government today approved the decision to establish the Office for the Implementation of Strategic National Infrastructure Projects. The new structure will be tasked with managing the efficient implementation of strategic infrastructure projects financed through both external and domestic sources.

Government Secretary General Alexei Buzu said at the Government meeting that establishing the new entity is necessary to ensure the high-quality and timely implementation of projects of strategic importance, including through the efficient use of resources.


„We are ensuring that, within one team and one institution, we have the specialists and capacities required, clearer procedures for planning, constructing and carrying out complex works and, most importantly, monitoring this progress,” Alexei Buzu said.


At present, the Republic of Moldova has several project implementation units, with different teams and procedures. Through the decision approved today, the authorities are proposing a process to streamline and consolidate these entities in order to increase efficiency.

At the first stage, the new structure will bring together the project implementation units responsible for the construction of the new penitentiary in Chișinău and the regional hospitals in Bălți and Cahul.


„In the context of the Republic of Moldova implementing the EU Growth Plan worth 1.9 billion euros, we have this major opportunity to finance a strategic portfolio of projects. Therefore, our challenge is the capacity to implement the projects on time, within budget and to a high standard. The Republic of Moldova has several project implementation units, with different teams and procedures, and what we are proposing is to begin a process of streamlining and consolidating these implementation units. Today, we are proposing to start with two, meaning that we will consolidate two implementation units: one responsible for the construction of the penitentiary in Chișinău, which has been delayed for years, and an implementation unit that will take over the construction of the two regional hospitals in Bălți and Cahul. On the basis of these two units, we are establishing the Office for the Implementation of Strategic National Infrastructure Projects,” Alexei Buzu said.


At the next stage, the new entity will also consolidate other strategic project implementation units within its structure.


„We are currently analyzing the next wave of consolidations, meaning that other project implementation units will be merged into this office,” Alexei Buzu added.


Prime Minister Vasile Tofan emphasized that, in this regard, the Republic of Moldova is drawing on the experience of other countries, which has shown that establishing such a structure can accelerate the implementation of strategic projects.


„This is a good practice recommended to us by our friends in Brussels. Some countries have dramatically accelerated the implementation of infrastructure projects by creating such a centralized agency. Montenegro, for example, did this and achieved a much faster implementation pace, so that we do not spend 10 years building a penitentiary or a hospital,” the prime minister said.


According to the official, the new structure will also bring together implementation units already operating within ministries, which will help reduce costs.


„And secondly, it is very important to avoid speculation: we are trying to consolidate the implementation units already operating within the ministries into a single centralized one. This does not necessarily mean higher costs. On the contrary, we could save money by having one unit instead of 12,” Vasile Tofan emphasized.


The proposal to establish the Office for the Implementation of Strategic National Infrastructure Projects was presented last week by Prime Minister Vasile Tofan. At the time, the official announced that the new entity would be headed by the current head of the Public Services Agency, Mircea Eșanu.