Moldovan Economics Ministry presents report on Free Economic Zone activity

Economics Minister Andrian Candu highlighted that, due to the special fiscal and legal regimes, FEZs were an important instrument to attract investments and promote export. „The Economics Ministry keeps a close eye on the development of the Free Economic Zones and actively backs local and foreign investors, in order to implement their investment projects,” Candu said. 

The report on the activity of FEZs during the first nine months of 2014 showed that their quota in the macroeconomic development of Moldova is higher. Thus, the total amount of investments into these zones, all along their activity, according to the situation on 1 October 2014, was of 207.1 million dollars (increasing by 10.6 per cent compared to the same period of 2013). At the same time, the average salary increased by 17 per cent against the same period of 2013. Thus, the average wage of FEZ employees is of 5,012 lei.

The ZEL activity continues to be directed mainly to the industrial products meant for export. If, at the end of 2013, the quota of rise up of sales of industrial goods reached the record rate of 20.8 per cent, thus, in the first nine months of 2014, this indicator was of 28.1 per cent . It is forecast that the high quota of increase of the industrial products will maintain in the years to come.

On medium term, based on the already implemented investment projects, about 100 million euros is to be invested and a rise up of 3 billion lei of the quota of industrial products sales is forecast. New major investment projects are also to be launched, following to which 80-million-dollar-worth investments, quota of industrial goods sales of 1.5 billion lei and creation of 4,000 jobs are planned. 

In order to increase the competitiveness of the above-mentioned zones, the provocations in the FEZ activity were also discussed at the meeting. A problem is the insufficiency of production rooms on FEZ's territory. In the context, Andrian Candu suggested to create private industrial parks and gave to the Economics Ministry's specialists a one-month delay, in order to identify legal and normative solutions.

The lack of manpower is a problem that the FEZ residents face and the Economics Ministry backs the creation of the Vocation Academy and will provide the necessary support for the implementation of this project. Another challenge is the energy efficiency. Thus, the Agency for Energy Efficiency is to come with proposals, in order to encourage residents to involve in energy efficiency projects.