The elevators in Bender are in a critical condition. The 25-year working life and the additional nine-year guarantee of each third elevator in the town have expired, Info-Prim Neo's correspondent in Tiraspol reports. Nicolai Kreţu, chief engineer at the municipal company Benderlift, said the situation of the elevators in Bender is like in all the other Transnistrian towns. According to him, if the elevators are repaired thoroughly, their working life could be extended. As there are no funds, the elevators cannot be replaced and modernized, Kretu said. If the elevators in multistory buildings stop working, the dwellers and the emergency services will encounter difficulties, Kretu added. Benderlift is responsible for 410 elevators. About 50,000 Transnistrian rubles (746,000 lei) is needed to keep them functional. The local authorities are now looking for extrabudgetary resources to maintain the elevators. Nicolai Kretu also said that a new elevator costs US$18,000-20,000. The works to set up and dismantle the elevators are as expensive. Only ten elevators had been replaced in Bender during the last ten years.