Moldova discusses concessional loan with WB for thermoelectric sector

The Ministry of Economy is preparing a US$20 million project that will be proposed to the World Bank for financing. It includes an investment component that will enable to remove the most critical elements from the work of the thermoelectric plants and the Chisinau heat supplier Termocom, said Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy Valeriu Lazar. “The wear degree in the thermoelectric system is 80% and the situation worsens year by year as no investments are made. The loans we can take out from banks are not a good solution as the investments are included in the charges paid by the consumers. The only solution is for the World Bank to give us a concessional loan repayable in 40 or 20 years so that the consumers do not feel the effect of tariff rises,” Valeriu Lazar said in an Info-Prim Neo interview of the series “Year 2012 in Moldova’s and Moldovans”, {which was published on December 14}. The official also said that this is the philosophy: If you do reforms, you achieve results and get money as well as benefits, in time. The interview with Valeriu Lazar continues the series of 12 Info-Prim Neo interviews “Year 2012 in Moldova’s and Moldovans’ life”. Until now, their opinions about the performance of the passing year were stated by Prime Minister Vlad Filat, the Communist leader Vladimir Voronin, and OSCE Mission Head Jennifer Brush. The next interviews will be with Minister of Justice Oleg Efrim, Mayor of Chisinau Dorin Chirtoaca, Minister of Agriculture and Food Industry Vasile Bumacov, and others.