The works to build the new penitentiary in the municipality of Chisinau, which were to end in 2018, haven’t yet started. The company that was to implement the project hasn’t been selected yet. Representatives of the Project Implementation Unit said the last tender contest held last December didn’t end with the selection of the contractor.

Contacted by IPN, Liviu Duca, civil engineer of the Project Implementation Unit, said the tender contest held last December involved a consortium of companies based in Moldova, Turkey and Austria, an Azerbaijani company and an Italian firm. “The tender contest was annulled because none of the bidders appropriately prepared the required package of documents,” said the official. According to Liviu Duca, this is a complex project that consists not only of building works. It also envisions the outfitting of the penitentiary, including with equipment.

Liviu Duca noted that an information session will be staged so as to attract more companies that would take part in a new tender contest. After the information session, there will be held a pre-qualification stage and then the tender contest.

The works to design the new penitentiary started in 2016. An audit report presented by the Court of Auditors at the end of 2019 ascertained the implementation of the project was 54 months behind schedule, with over 153 million lei that was allocated not being utilized. The costs associated with the remuneration of the personnel of the Project Implementation Unit in 2014-2019 came to 11.4 million lei.

In 2019, at the request of the Ministry of Justice, the loan raised from the Council of Europe Development Bank was raised by €10 million to €49 million. The Government’s contrition is of €6.8 million.