Oleg Cernei: Contract for building waste burning plant disadvantages City Hall

Chisinau councilor Oleg Cernei, who heads the public amenities commission, considers that hidden interests are pursued through the contract for the design and construction of the waste burning plant signed by the City Hall and an Italian construction company. According to him, the local councilors are pressured into approving this project, Info-Prim Neo reports. “In 2006, Vasile Ursu, while acting Mayor of Chisinau, signed a contract with S.T.R Engineering Consulting SRL without analyzing it in detail. I think the investor is an intermediary that could later sell this land for a large sum of money,” the councilor told a news conference on March 17. Oleg Cernei said the only solution is for the investor to open a representative office in Moldova and guarantee that it will make the promised investments. “This project is being pushed in the agenda of tomorrow's meeting of the Chisinau Council. Pressure is exerted by persons from inside and outside the City Hall. I will not give names now, but I will tell everything if the project is approved,” he said. On the other hand, Mayor of Chisinau Dorin Chirtoaca said the City Hall is obliged to cope with this situation. The investment schedule and the place where the plant will be build are now being negotiated. “It is rather hard to successfully finish something that did not yet start as all the agreements were reached in 2006,” the mayor said. Asked to comment on Oleg Cernei's assertion that the councilors are pressurized into voting for this project, Dorin Chirtoaca said the investor cannot be changed by pressure or initiatives as it was selected by a legal procedure. The land can be allocated only to the winner of the tender contest. “This company does not have a monopoly on the waste management market in Chisinau. We aimed at getting rid of monopoly,” Chirtoaca said, adding he trusts the investor.