Initiatives of develop green cities to be supported throughout grants in Moldova

Chisinau, 07 October /MOLDPRES/ – Project: Sustainable green cities has launched a grant programme for new, innovative and environmentally friendly urban development solutions. The deadline for submission of files is 31 October. 

The total amount of a grant, offered under the Fast Track Challenge Programme (FTCP), is up to $8,000. The initiatives may be submitted by legal entities registered in Moldova. The participants in the contest must provide at least 30 per cent of their own contribution from the total value of submitted project. The project proposals accepted in competition will cover areas such as urban mobility, waste management, energy efficiency and renewable energy sources, and sustainable urban planning.

"We financially support innovative initiatives that respond to the challenges of urbanisation and aim to increase comfort of people, as well as have a positive impact upon environment. We will finance initiatives that can be implemented in a short period of time and provide tangible results fast," said Project Manager of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP Moldova), Alexandru Rotaru.

The submitted projects will be carried out within up to 09 months. The co – financing can be non – monetary or monetary and is to be provided by the grant company or consortium. The partnerships with non – governmental organisations (NGOs), companies or public institutions will also be considered an asset.

The project proposals will be evaluated by an expert panel upon eligibility criteria: Relevance; innovation; social, economic and environmental impacts; sustainability; degree of replication/extension of initiative; territorial coverage and implementation period. The evaluation will take place in two stages: examining the files submitted according to eligibility criteria and presenting the innovative project to evaluation commission (CE). In 2018, four project initiatives will benefit from funding. The FTCP will continue in 2019 – 2021.

Five years of sustainable green cities for Moldova (2018 – 2022) have a total budget of $2.72 million, out of which $2.64 million are granted by the Global Environment Facility and $80.000 – by UNDP Moldova.

(Reporter L. Grubii, editor L. Alcaza)