The road fund for 2010 is 563 million lei, 2.5 times larger than last year. Of this sum, 384 million lei will be used to maintain and repair the roads, Info-Prim Neo reports, quoting the road fund distribution program approved by the Government. A sum of 45 million lei will go to mark the streets and set up traffic signs, while about 95 million lei will be used to purchase equipment, snowplows and other special vehicles. “For the first time this year, all the asphalted streets will be stopped up, about 7 000 km of road. The works to stop up the national roads are close to an end. The works on the local roads began last week,” said Minister of Transport and Road Infrastructure Anatol Salaru. According to the minister, the streets to and from the country and the roads that are important for the national economy will be the first to be repaired. “Among these are the Chisinau – Leuseni and Balti – Sarateni roads. The repair of the Chisinau-Rezina road will start this year. The cement plant Lafarge will contribute €2.4 million to the repair,” Salaru said. The minister also said that under the strategy for developing the road infrastructure, the excise duties on oil products will be gradually increased and will be then fully transferred to the road fund. This year, the road fund that includes the excise duties on oil products, the tolls and other taxes paid by drivers is 2.5 times larger than in 2009. In 2011, it will be 1 billion lei. According to the strategy that was worked out with the assistance of the World Bank, a sum of US$4 billion is needed to rehabilitate Moldova's roads. Anatol Salaru said the grant of US$132 million provided by the Millennium Challenge Corporation will start to be used in 2011.