Chisinau: Recapping the the year

[Info-Prim Neo article from the series “2011: the way it was and was not”] {Chisinau and its achievements, failures and prospects – events} [- February 8] Information plates were installed on the monuments of national importance in Chisinau. They read the name of the monument, year of building and national or local importance. [- February 10] Chisinau’s budget for 2011 was voted in final reading. It provided for incomes of 1,889 million lei and expenses of 2,310 million, with a resulting deficit of 420 million lei. [- February 22] The City Hall and the National Council of NGOs in Moldova signed a cooperation agreement. [- March 11] US Vice President Joe Biden visited Chisinau. [- March 15] Chisinau City Hall offers 500,000 lei aid to Japan to fight the consequences of natural disasters that had struck the country. [- March 24] Chisinau City Hall announced the start of works for 5 facilities included in the municipal plan for renovation of infrastructure, financed by the International Finance Corporation. [- March 30] The City Hall launched the electronic map of Chisinau on its website www.chisinau.md. [-April 16] The National Day of Cleaning, organized by Hai, Moldova! Project and the Chisinau City Hall, took place. [- April 28] The first 20 of the 102 trolleybuses bought from Belarus for the Electric Transport Administration were put into use. [-May 5] The first and second stages of reconstruction of Valea Morilor Lake were finished. [- June 2] Chisinau City Hall bought 67 new lawnmowers for the Green Spaces Association. [- June 2] 20 new cars were added to the municipal police car park. The Chisinau City Hall spent 2 million lei on the vehicles. [- June 5] The Party of Communists obtained 46.11% of votes and 26 councilor seats in the CMC. PL candidate Dorin Chirtoaca and the PCRM candidate qualified for the second round of elections. [- June 19] Liberal Dorin Chirtoaca won the second round of the mayoral elections in Chisinau. He narrowly bested the Communists’ Igor Dodon, polling 50.60% against 49.40%. [- June 28] The head of the Administrative Division Nicolae Monastarli was released from his position. The reason was that he reached the retirement age. [- June 29] The Public Transport and Communication Ways Municipal Division remains without a head, as Veaceslav Tarna resigned. Mayor Dorin Chirtoaca had previously stated that Tarna would be fired because of infringements committed during the repairing of Alba Iulia Street in Buiucani sector. [- June 30] The votes for the Municipal Council of the local elections on June 5 were recounted on the request of the Liberal Party, but the results didn’t change. PCRM remained with 26 councilor seats, PL 17, PLDM 7 and PDM 1. [- July 5] Chief-architect of the city Vlad Modirca was removed from his position. There were several reasons invoked, including retirement age. [-July 5] Mayor Dorin Chirtoaca and EBRD director for Moldova Paul-Henri Forestier agreed on a new project to rehabilitate several streets in Chisinau. [- July 18] Dorin Chirtoaca received his badge as mayor of Chisinau. [- July 18] The meeting for formation of the Chisinau Municipal Council took place. [- August 27] The 20th anniversary of Independence was marked through a series of events. [- October 13] Chisinau City Museum on Mitropolit G. Banulescu-Bodoni Street was reopened after several years of reconstruction. [-October 13] Chisinau City Hall and Belkommunmash plant from Minsk signed an agreement about the assembling of trolleybuses in Chisinau. [- October 14] Chisinau’s 575th anniversary. [- October 15] Chisinau City Hall presented the 102 new trolleybuses from Minsk, Belarus, in the Great National Assembly Square. The acquisition was possible thanks to collaboration with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the European Investment Bank and the European Union. The overall cost of the project was €13.7 million. -November 18 Apa-Canal Chisinau inaugurated a new storage facility for the mud from the city's Water Treatment Station, with a capacity of 250,000 cubic meters. [- November 29] General Mayor Dorin Chirtoaca signed in Brussels the document for Chisinau to join the Mayors Convention. [- December 1] Winter holidays started in Chisinau. [- December 1] The mayors of Chisinau and Alba Iulia, Dorin Chirtoaca and Mircea Hava, signed a twinning agreement between the two cities. [- December 2] City Hall signed an agreement with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the European Investment Bank and obtained €22 million for the full reconstruction of 5 streets in Chisinau. [Elena Nistor, Info-Prim Neo]