February 21, 2025, is the deadline for submitting bids for the international tender for the construction of two high-performance Combined Heat and Power (CHP) plants in Chișinău, with an electrical capacity of about 55 MW and a thermal capacity of 43 Gcal/h, IPN reports.

The plants must be completed within two years from the date the construction contract comes into effect. The project costs 81 million euros. The project beneficiary is Termoelectrica.

According to the Ministry of Energy, the project involves the construction of state-of-the-art facilities using modern and flexible high-efficiency cogeneration technologies, thus contributing to increasing the country’s internal electricity production capacity and enhancing energy security.

The construction of the high-performance CHP plants was approved by the Government in 2023. These plants will replace the former CHP-1, which was commissioned in 1951, and will be able to operate throughout the year, not just during the heating season, covering thermal load by producing hot water for domestic use.

In October 2024, the Unified Unit for the Implementation and Monitoring of Energy Projects (UCIPE) announced the repeated tender procedure. Additional measures were taken to facilitate the involvement of more international companies with the necessary technologies, capacities, and experience to carry out the project.

The international tender is part of the second project to improve the efficiency of the centralized heat supply system (PIESACET-2), funded by the World Bank Group Moldova.