Experts say Ungheni - Chisinau - Odessa highway must be declared national priority

Chisinau, 30 October /MOLDPRES/ - The construction of the Ungheni- Chisinau – Odessa highway must be declared national priority, according to more experts. The latter said that Moldova might attract foreign investments for starting the construction works.    

Director of the Institute of Development and Expertise of Projects (IDEP) Iurie Calestru today said that, after the highway was declared national priority, its construction should be included in the government’s action plan.   

„We have already got support in Romania, Ukraine, as well as in EU and the initiative must have support in Moldova as well. Not a declarative or formal support, which we already have, which is not sufficient. We need the government’s backing and concrete deeds; we need working groups which are to clearly establish the terms and conditions of cooperation, the roadmap; who can apply for the feasibility study; which are the real terms, so that we make the next step, in order to finance such a work,” an IDEP representative, Gabriel Margineanu, said.  

An expert, former deputy transports minister Andrei Cuculescu said that Moldova might get grants for carrying out the feasibility study and subsequently financing to implement the project, as the route reaches the central Europe and is on a corridor in which both Moldova, Romania and EU are interested. Besides, the highway’s construction could have important economic implications for Moldova.   

The Ungheni- Chisinau – Odessa highway will be a continuation of the Union Highway, which will make connection between the cities of Targu Mures and Iasi and will reach Ungheni. The Romanian authorities have recently suggested that the Union Highway is declared national importance goal.