The Ministry of Culture launched an internal inquiry to determine if the national legislation was respected when the road in Butuceni village, which is part of the cultural-natural reserve “Orheiul Vechi”, was asphalted. Minister of Culture Sergiu Prodan said the asphalting of the road has not brought any damage to the national heritage and the practice of asphalting roads in reserves is common in other states, IPN notes.

The minister noted that the road in Butuceni village was a problem for locals. The administration of the reserve, at the request of Butuceni residents, asked the Ministry of Infrastructure and Regional Development to include the 3.7 km long road in Butuceni in the work program for 2023.

“Has damage been done or not to the reserve or the heritage? Specialists, the National Council of Historical Monuments, the Inspection Agency must pronounce on this. It is regrettable that the reserve’s administration did not fully ensure compliance with the procedures stipulated in the legislation. An internal inquiry is underway, but it hasn’t been launched to punish someone. This road was a serious problem for the community, for the residents of Butuceni village, for the economic and agricultural activities in this area as this road cannot be bypassed,” Sergiu Prodan stated in the program “Day by Day” on Radio Moldova station.

The official noted that the experience of other states shows that road asphalting in natural reserves is not prohibited, even if the roads are paved.

“The asphalt, in itself, is not destructive. If we look at the experience of other countries, roads in reserves, roads leading to archaeological sites, in protected areas, are asphalted, sometimes even above the existing pavement. In our case, at Orheiul Vechi, there was no pavement. Therefore, all discussions are only hypothetical and have no substance. The asphalt, in itself, and the works carried out there did not cause any damage to Butuceni village, to the national heritage. But this is just my opinion. We asked the Monument Inspection Agency to determine whether any damage was caused during the works or not,” the minister said.

According to Sergiu Prodan, following public discussions on the opportunity of asphalting the road in Butuceni, the administration of “Orheiul Vechi” reserve was asked to design and present a road repair project compliant with the preservation and valorization requirements applying to heritage monuments in the reserve.