The €100 million in non-reimbursable assistance offered by Romania to Moldova will come to Chisinau when the approved projects start to be implemented, as a result of feasibility studies, Romania’s President Traian Basescu said on July 17, while on a visit to Chisinau.

“If somebody believes that this non-reimbursable assistance can be put in a van and sent to Chisinau, they are wrong. I saw such an approach at politicians too. Romania provides this money in the same conditions as inside the European Union,” Traian Basescu said in a news conference.

He underlined that the four interconnection projects between Moldova and Romania are implemented with money coming from the non-reimbursable assistance of €100 million. After the floods of 2010, Romania provided €8.5 million from this assistance. The money was used to repair victims’ homes.

Traian Basescu reiterated that the money is allocated only after the project is agreed, based on a feasibility study. An auction is held, the contractor is selected and money is disbursed while the project is implemented. “We will invest in the construction of the Iasi-Ungheni gas pipeline as in the Falciu-Gotesti interconnection project. The projects are chosen by the Government of Moldova, not by us,” he stated.

The works to build the Iasi-Ungheni gas pipeline will start on August 27, when Moldova celebrates the Independence Day. It will be almost 11km long. The investments will amount to about €9 million. The transportation capacity will be €1.5 billion cubic meters of gas a year.