*These data does not include procurement in the utilities sectors, given that the Law has quite recently entered into force and there is no yet any official statistics available for analysis.
Apart from this data, many of the procurement opportunities in the targeted sectors are conducted within the projects financed by country’s development partners, among which: the World Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD); The European Investment Bank (EIB); the European Commission; other EU institutions, UN organisations; etc. Respectively, these procurement are in most cases carried out in accordance with the specific rules of the respective funding institution.
The Public Procurement Law no. 131/2015(PPL) and the Law on Procurement in the energy, water, transport and postal services sectors no. 74/2020(Law on utilities) are the main legal acts governing public and sectoral procurement in the Republic of Moldova.The legal framework is largely harmonized with the EU directives.
One of the guiding principles in public procurement provided for in the PPL is environmental protection and the promotion of sustainable development through public procurement. The PPL also provides the right of the contracting authority to impose in the award documentation, to the extent that they are compatible with Community law, special conditions for the performance of the contract, which aims to achieve social effects or in connection with environmental protection and promotion of sustainable development.
Both, Public Procurement Law in Art. 24, as well and Law on Utilities in Art. 74 establishes environmental protection standards. Accordingly, contracting authorities / entities have the right to impose in the award documentation, insofar as they are compatible with community law, special conditions for fulfilling a the contract, which aims to obtain some effects of a social order or in relation to protection the environment and the promotion of sustainable development.
There are also a number of secondary legal acts that are used by contracting authorities and are publicly available on the Public Procurement Agency portal. In the same source, the data on procurement contracts awarded by contracting authorities is available for anyone interested. In the utilities sector, the main normative act that guides contracting entities in sectoral procurement is Government Decision no. 464 of 06.07.2022 regarding the approval of the Methodological Norms regarding the awarding of sectoral procurement contracts / framework agreements in the energy, water, transport and postal services sectors.
As regards the policies in the sector, a new National Programme for the Development of the Public Procurement System for 2023-2026 was approved by the Government on August 30, 2023, at the initiative of the Ministry of Finance. According to the document, the aim of the Programme is focused on establishing lines of action to develop a public procurement system capable of providing "value for money" in the use of public funds. The main objectives set out in the Programme relate to: harmonization of national legislation with the EU acquis, re-engineering of the e-procurement system, development of mechanisms to ensure sustainability of procurement, creation of conditions for economic and social efficiency of procurement procedures, capacity building and professionalization of procurement staff. The Programme is aligned with the objectives of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development that the Republic of Moldova is committed to implement. Similarly, the Programme contributes to the implementation of the objectives of the National Development Strategy - European Moldova 2030. One of the expected results to be achieved by the end of 2026 is the share of the procurement contracts that contain social, environmental innovation and performance criteria of 15% from the total awarded contracts.
In what concerns the use of the national e-procurement system, public procurement are mandatory to be carried our through the national e-procurement system called SIA RSAP „MTender”. That means that any company interested to bid in a public procurement procedure needs to be registered in MTender. Being registered on one of the e-procurement system platforms allows company to subscribe in order to receive notification any time a particular tender in the sector/sectors of interest was launched.
As for the procurement in the utilities sector, the Law does not provide for mandatory use of the e-procurement sistem. Even so, many contracting entities, including those that operate in the targeted sector, publish and carry out their procurement through MTender. Registration on MTender platforms is freely accessible, both for resident and non-resident economic operators.
Moreover, in the case of sectoral procurement financed from EU funds and/or from one of the EU member states, the notice of intent, contract notice and award notice will be published in the Official Journal of the European Union. This represents an advantage for the companies that already have experience with tendering within EU and respectively in using TED.
The main authorities that have procurement in the energy efficiency are the Moldova Energy Projects Implementation Unit (MEPIU) and the National Center on Energy Efficiency (CNED) the succesor of the Energy Efficiency Agency. Among other contracting authorities / entities that have procurement in the energy sector are:
Moldova Energy Projects Implementation Unit (MEPIU), is an independent, legal entity established by the Government Decision no. 1276 in December 2000.The task of MEPIU is to ensure the efficient implementation of the projects in the energy sector through their administration, monitoring and coordination in accordance with the Donors’/international financial institutions’ requirements.
Currently, MEPIU implements projects related to modernization of the centralized district heating system, diversification of natural gas supply sources, and interconnection of power grids of the Republic of Moldova and Romania.
The World Bank Office in Moldova jointly with the MEPIU is currently implementing the project „Second District Heating Efficiency Improvement Project - P172668” (2020- 2025) with a total budget of $100,00 million.The Development Objective of the Project is to increase the efficiency of the District Heating system in Chisinau Municipality.
The recently created National Center for Energy Efficiency (CNED) is the key institution in supporting and promoting energy efficiency and sustainable energy projects in the Republic of Moldova. Created following the reorganization and transformation of the former Agency for Energy Efficiency, starting from January 1, 2024, CNED assumes a crucial role in the development of energy efficiency and renewable energy sources.
Chisinau Municipality is the largest municipality in the country with a total budget planned for 2024 of 7 billions MDL (around 365.000 millions EUR). Chisinau Municipality is implementing the project "Energy Efficiency and Thermal Rehabilitation of Buildings in Chișinău Municipality" that was launched at the beginning of 2021. To carry out the project, the Chișinău City Hall received support from two important development partners: the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the European Investment Bank (EIB). The total budget of the project was 25 million euros, allocated for the energy efficiency improvement of 22 public buildings in Chișinău.
Among the contracting authorities / entities that have procurement in the water and sanitation sector are:
The JSC „Apa Canal Chisinau” is an entity that operate at the level of Chisinau municipality. The company is responsible for providing services in the communal household area, namely: water supply and sanitation services; public heating and hot water supply service.
Starting from 2015, S.A. "Apă-Canal Chişinău" implements the Priority Investment Program, with a financing of 56 million Euros (of which 13.63 million are non-refundable funds) from the loans of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the European Investment Bank and the investment grant offered by to the Neighborhood Investment Facility of the European Union, under the guarantee of the Chisinau City Hall.
The National Office for Regional and Local Development (ONDRL) is a self-governing public institution under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Regional Development. ONDRL has the mission of coordinating the activities aimed at ensuring the implementation of programs and projects in the areas provided for in Law no. 27/2022 on the National Fund for Regional and Local Development.
The World Bank Office in Moldova jointly with the Moldovan Government is currently is currently implementing the project „Moldova Water Security and Sanitation Project - P173076” (2022-2027) with a total budget of $52.8 million. The project is aiming to increase access to safely managed water supply and sanitation services in selected rural areas and towns, and to strengthen national and local institutional capacity for water supply and sanitation service delivery; and (ii) in case of an Eligible Crisis or Emergency, respond promptly and effectively to it.
Chisinau Municipality is implementing two projects with external funding in the targeted area:
- Bîc River Rehabilitation and Flood Protection Project - based on the agreement with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development for a total of 12 million euros, including a 4 million euro grant.
- The program for the development of water supply services in Chișinău municipality, financed through loans from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the European Investment Bank, and an investment grant provided by the European Union's Neighborhood Investment Facility, under the guarantee of the Chișinău City Hall, with a total value of approximately 61.8 million EUR.
A list of recent and current procurement in the water management sector can be found in the Annex no. 1
Among the contracting authorities / entities that have procurement in the waste management sector are:
The National Office for Implementation of Environmental Projects (ONIPM) is a public institution founded by the Ministry of the Environment. The ONIPM has the mission of providing support to the Ministry of the Environment and organizational structures within its sphere of competence, in order to effectively implement external and internal financial and technical assistance projects. The ONIPM operates in accordance with the provisions of normative acts, international conventions to which the Republic of Moldova is a party and international standards in the field of environmental protection, as well as the creation of the necessary premises for carrying out, under the conditions of legality and transparency, the procedures for identification, evaluation, selection, financing and monitoring of projects in the respective field, in order to ensure the efficient administration of the National Fund for the Environment. ONIPM has the following areas of competence: environmental protection; climate change; sustainable management of natural resources.
ONIPM is the implementation entity of the project “Moldova Solid Waste Project”, implemented with the EBRD financial support with a total budget of 25 millions EUR. Procurement under this project will be conducted using the EBRD Client E-Procurement Portal (ECEPP).
Besides, Chisinau Municipality signed an agreement (December 2020) for the financing of waste management system modernization activities. The overall financing plan of the project includes: EBRD loan - 9 million euros; EIB grant - 9 million euros; EBRD grant - 5 million euros.
Municipal Enterprise Regia Autosalubritate is a self-managing enterprise, which operates as part of the General Housing - Communal and Development Directorate of the Chisinau municipality. The main activity of the enterprise is focused on: collection and transportation of solid household waste; and processing and burial of solid household waste at the municipal landfill.