Expert-Grup

Problem Roads: Non-Transparent Procurement and Procedural Violations in Major Road Repairs in Chisinau

Tuesday, 15 November 20165702 views
Problem Roads: Non-Transparent Procurement and Procedural Violations in Major Road Repairs in Chisinau

Automatically translated summary. The full article is available in Romanian.

Independent Think Tank “Expert-Grup” monitored the public procurement of seven road infrastructure projects in Chisinau, carried out between 2012 and 2016. The projects, covering streets such as A. Russo, Prigoreni and Ștefan cel Mare și Sfânt Boulevard, have a total budget of MDL 437.2 million.

The monitoring found no well-articulated process for identifying priority projects and allocating resources, leaving room for budgeting on the basis of “political will” and giving insufficient attention to the needs of people with disabilities. Experts also identified procedural violations and corruption risks: tender documentation drawn up in breach of the law, favoured bidders, and related companies that took part in tenders and won contracts. Chisinau allocates about 3% of its budget to capital repairs and about 9% to current repairs.

Experts recommend that the City Hall and Municipal Council publish decisions and budget execution reports and revise the street repair programme to include wear levels and traffic intensity. They urge the road transport directorate to increase competition and public information on planned procurement, and the Ministry of Finance to produce a guide on collusion risks.

View the original article in Romanian