21-08-08 A 126-km-long high-pressure gas pipeline Balti-Ungheni will be put into operation in spring, 2009. A group of experts led by Deputy Economics and Trade Minister Tudor Copaci ascertained this after a visit to the construction site on 20 August.
The construction of the gas pipeline started in 2008, 25 km of gas pipeline have been already constructed from the Baltic city up to the border between the districts of Singerei and Falesti this summer. Another 62 km of gas pipeline are scheduled to be put into operation till late 2008, according to the Economics and Trade Ministry (MEC).

The principal gas pipeline will supply gas to 250 settlements from the districts of Singerei, Telenesti, Falesti and Ungheni. The authorities of these settlements were suggested to already start elaborating projects of construction of gas pipelines in villages, which will allow the immediate connection to the gas pipeline, after it is put into operation.
The Balti-Ungheni high-pressure principal gas pipeline is the second one in Moldova according to its importance. The first one is Tocus-Mereni-Cainari, which provides the districts of Causeni, Anenii Noi, Ialoveni and the Chisinau municipality with natural gas. The budget of the construction of the high-pressure principal gas pipeline Balti-Ungheni is 250 mm lei (EUR 17.5 mm).

On the same day, Tudor Copaci had a meeting with 17 licence holders in charge of gas distribution, exploitation and service of gas networks. A report unveiled at the meeting shows that, starting from 15 January 2008, about 3,000 consumers from 75 villages have been connected or are going to be connected to the networks of distribution of gas inside the settlements.
On 15 July 2008, the management board of the National Agency for Regulation of Energy approved the tariff of 2,970 lei on connection to the gas distribution networks inside the settlements. The decision was taken on the basis of a government decision from 16 July 2008.

Gas pipelines were constructed in 900 settlements out of the 1,520 ones, which accounts for 60 % of all the settlements.
Thus, over 5,000 km of gas pipelines were constructed with public money, the cost of which exceeds 1 bn lei, according to the MEC's public relations service.