Expert-Grup

Analysis of the Ministry's Proposal on a New Way of Administering Roads

Politici de creștere economicăFinanțe publiceTuesday, 28 March 20234005 views
Project:
Strengthening the Monitoring Capacity of Civil Society in Moldova

Automatically translated summary. The full text is available in Romanian.

The Independent Think Tank “Expert-Grup” analyses a proposal by the Ministry of Infrastructure and Regional Development (MIDR) to change how public roads are administered in Moldova, including reorganising the state enterprise ASD into a joint-stock company and merging it with the 10 majority state-owned road maintenance companies.

The analysis recalls that road quality in Moldova is perceived as the worst in Europe. In 2020 only 53.2% of national public roads were in very good, good or mediocre condition, against 70% in 1992. In the Global Competitiveness Report Moldova rose from 1.52 to 2.6, ranking 127th of 141. The national development strategy targets a score of 4.5 and no more than 25% of roads in poor condition by 2025.

Chronic underfunding is the main obstacle: in 2023 the road fund allocates MDL 1,485 million to national roads, of which only MDL 829 million goes to maintenance, one third of the necessary minimum. Politicisation of maintenance shortens the life of investments, and economic losses are four times the amount “saved”. The study assesses the proposal's coherence with state policy and financing agreements, and the risks of market distortion and corruption. It was supported by NED.

View the original in Romanian