Moldovan PM chairs meeting of Road Fund Council

Chisinau, 10 September /MOLDPRES/-  Road Fund means must be managed transparently and in conditions of maximum efficiency, in the interest of the citizens, said today, Natalia Gavrilița at a meeting of the Fund Council, the government's communication and protocol department has reported.

"It is necessary a mechanism through which each citizen can see which roads are under repair, on what criteria they were selected, how much money was allocated for the works, who is the contractor, what are the terms of the project, but also how the quality of the works is evaluated. At the same time, through this mechanism, every citizen must be able to report irregularities and possible abuses ", the premier said.

The report on the implementation of the Program for allocating the funds of the Road Fund for seven months of the current year was heard at the meeting. According to Sergiu Bejan, acting director general of the State Administration of Roads, this year 1,532,059.8 thousand lei were allocated for the maintenance and repair of national public roads and engineering constructions. Until August 1, only 504,448.6 thousand lei were used from this amount, which is around 32% of the allocated amount. Under these conditions, the Prime Minister called on those responsible to ensure maximum efficiency, starting from the implementation of European standards in the field.

Natalia Gavrilița also referred to the need to hold accountable, including by imposing penalties, companies that do not fulfill their contractual obligations or do not honor them in the terms provided by the contract.

Another topic discussed was the quality of road safety elements, which influences the rate of road accidents. It was mentioned that about 40 sections of national roads have a damaged pavement of over 65%, over 2800 road signs are missing on local roads. 10 bridges, located on national roads, 14 - on local roads, do not meet the requirements of safety regulations, hundreds of people crossing them are exposed to daily risk. There are no road markings and road signs - Children, School, are missing in 95% of the adjacent preschool and school institutions.

In this context, several complex measures have been proposed, including the establishment of an automated surveillance system, directing road traffic, construction of parapets in places with a high concentration of pedestrian collisions, installation of additional parapets to prevent illegal crossing etc.

Also during the meeting it was decided to increase the amount of allowances for road maintenance in winter by 50,403 thousand lei.

The Road Fund Council is an advisory body set up to ensure the transparency and efficient use of the Road Fund's resources. The Council is made up of 11 people, including 8 representatives of the specialized central public authorities and 3 representatives of public associations and employers in the field of transport and roads.

The network of national public roads under the management of the State Administration of Roads is 5,902 km. The execution of the maintenance works of the national public roads is carried out by 11 specialized enterprises Roads. About 1,950 employees work at Roads company.

Photo: Government