The elevators in Chisinau that are older than 43 years will be replaced next year. A request to this effect was made by acting mayor of Chisinau Silvia Radu in the December 11 meeting of officials of municipal services and divisions, IPN reports.

Director of the municipal enterprise “Liftservice” Ion Stanciu said they now serve 2,395 elevators in the housing sector based on contracts. Under the legislation, an elevator can be used for 25 years and should be then modernized or replaced. In Chisinau, 99% of the elevators are outdated.

Of all the elevators in Chisinau, 20% are older than 43. About 700,000 lei is needed to replace these. The approximately 33 million lei allocated from the municipal budget since 2009 was used to repair 25 elevators and to modernize another 46 units.  

According to Ion Stanciu, “Liftservice” has a budget of 30 million lei a year and this money is not enough to renovate or replace elevators and a state program is needed in this regard.

Silvia Radu instructed that all the elevators older than 43 should be replaced in the course of next year and the funds needed for the purpose should be allocated from the enterprise’s reserves. “Believe me that your company’s budget contains reserves. You should simply sit down and do some elementary calculations,” she stated. The acting mayor also asked for a two-year intervention plan for improving the state of elevators.