Competition watchdog says Chisinau Council favoring municipal waste collection utility

The Chisinau City Council is favoring the municipal waste collection and disposal company Autosalubritate by conditioning authorizations to companies on contracts with this utility, the National Competition Protection Agency (NCPA) has found. NCPA director Viorica Carare told a press briefing on Tuesday that such a privileged position for Autosalubritate amounted to unfair competition. A cease-and-desist order in this respect was issued to the City Council. “Each company should have a contract for such services and the Municipality is right to require them, but it's unlawful to tell companies which utility to choose”, said Viorica Carare. The NCPA has also found that this segment of the market is currently monopolized. “There are investors, both local and foreign, willing to enter this market, and it needs to be de-monopolized”, she said.