CHISINAU CENTRALIZED HEATING SYSTEM TO BE MODERNIZED WITH WB HELP

The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development from the World Bank (WB) group will provide to Moldova a credit of US$40.5 million for raising the efficiency of the centralized heating system of Chisinau. A corresponding loan agreement, signed in April, was ratified by the Moldovan Parliament on Thursday.

The credit is being provided till April 2049 with 2.5% interest rate and 5-year grace period in payments for creating of a modern and efficient system of distributing heating energy at the expense of reducing losses (by means of installing individual heating units and replacement of heating systems), lowering of costs (by reducing electricity consumption and costs for maintenance), as well as modernizing (reducing of losses in networks).

According to Deputy Minister of Economy Valeriu Triboi, the implementation of the project will not lead to a considerable growth of tariffs on heating, while without taking urgent measures at current losses in networks, which exceed 20%, tariffs will obviously go up, while the situation in the heating system will become catastrophic.

The Ministry of Economy (MoE) calculated that the implementation of the first stage of the project, for which US$20 million are allocated, will allow saving US$9 million per year.

As Infotag has already reported, within the reorganizing of Chisinau heating system in 2014, the municipal enterprise Termocom was declared bankrupt and was transferred to the Heating electric power plant CET-2 in Chisinau, which was renamed in Termocomelectrica.

It is assumed that the WB will be a guarantor of the enterprise before the Moldovagaz, which is the main creditor of the Chisinau heating energy complex (US$80 million).

As of January 1, 2015, owners of 39.3 thousand apartments in Chisinau had debts over 1 thousand lei for heating, including 21.4 thousand – debts up to 3 thousand lei, 6.1 thousand – from 3 to 5 thousand lei, 2.9 thousand – from 5 to 7 thousand lei and almost 8.7 thousand – over 7 thousand.