Civil society invited to discuss two development plans of Chisinau

The Plan for refitting the territory of Chisinau municipality and the project for the General Urban Plan of the capital, presented on Wednesday, January 10, will be open to public debates within two months, during which the residents of the city can make suggestions and proposals. The General Urban Plan was worked out by several design institutions in Chisinau and the Business Consulting Institute (BCI), also involving specialists from Romania and Belarus. The plan is to be approved by Chisinau Municipal Council until spring. As general director of “Urbanproiect” Institute, Iurie Povar, states, the General Urban Plan is an official regulation document in urbanism and envisages the improvement of the municipal infrastructure, essential changes in transport and communication network, and the creation of methods to avoid the centre of the capital and residential zones. At the same time, it is suggested to uniformly distribute the territories as reserves for building houses and to exclude the construction of villas on the outskirts of the city. The document also envisages a strategic plan for the development of industrial zones, green spaces, residential zones, including the clearing of the path of the Bâc River of industrial enterprises. BCI director Mihai Roscovan stated that the General Urban Plan is a plan that includes over 30 policies in different domains, 60 new programmes and over 160 projects to redress the situation in all the social-economic fields, which will be not financed from budgetary but from external sources. “The thing requested from the City Hall is to create a structure that would have the capacity to manage this plan, to draw up projects, to access funds for their implementation and to carry them out according to international standards”, says Roscovan. If the municipal administration does not know how to manage this plan or acts as it did till now, protecting the interests of certain groups or its own, then this plan has no chance, added the BCI director. As interim mayor of the capital Vasile Ursu states, the document corresponds to European requirements and will be translated in English to be accessible to foreign investors. To enjoy remarkable achievements within the General Urban Plan, general director of the “Urbanproiect” Institute Iurie Povar suggested the extension of the deadline set for the implementation by five years, which would be until the year 2025. To draw up the Plan for refitting the territory of Chisinau municipality and the project for the General Urban Plan of the capital, 8 mln lei were spent, 80% being allocated by the CMC and 20% by the UNDP.