MOLDOVAN GOVERNMENT WANTS A WB GRANT FOR RAISING ENERGY MARKET TRANSPARENCY

The Ministry of Economy and Infrastructure will hold negotiations with the World Bank on getting a grant for implementing the project “Transparent Energy Market”.

According to the ministry, it is about US$410 thousand for ensuring preparing measures for the Project on interconnecting the Moldovan and Romanian energy systems. The grant will be divided into three parts for creating a detailed feasibility study (US$351 thousand), technical improvement of the Moldelectrica state enterprise (US$41 thousand) and management and audit (US$18 thousand). On Wednesday the Cabinet of Ministers adopted the decision on starting the negotiations and signing of a grant agreement with the International Development Association (IDA) – the World Bank structure.

Minister of Economy and Infrastructure Chiril Gaburici explained the timeliness of the agreement by the need of preparing the project on energy system interconnection, which will allow creating a new, transparent and competitive electricity market in Moldova for integration in regional electricity markets of the European Union.

The total cost of the project on interconnection is estimated at 270 million euros. The building of the Back-to-Back station in Vulcanesti is provided at co-financing from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the European Investment Bank and the European Union. The World Bank will finance the extension of the Vulcanesti station, the Chisinau station modernization and the building of a 40-kV high-voltage power line Vulcanesti-Chisinau, providing a credit worth 70 million euros in US dollars.