Modernized residential neighborhoods, expanded local public services – new benefits offered to residents of Edineț, with financial support of the European Union
Better living conditions for residents in 5 residential neighborhoods, beneficiaries of an EU grant competition, as well as new public security services and other modernized, digitized, and environmentally friendly public services, were inaugurated today in Edineț. The newly launched public services include water supply service metering, investments in the local primary education system, and the digitalization of the residents’ information process. These remarkable results were achieved within the project “Edineț – insights into tomorrow cities,” funded by the European Union and implemented by the Edineț City Hall in partnership with the Alba Iulia City Hall, Romania.
“The municipality of Edinet successfully demonstrates how partnerships between local public authorities and civil society can be harnessed in programmes funded by the European Union and its Member States. I am pleased with the results of our project implemented here and I hope that these good practices will be widely replicated in other municipalities throughout Moldova. We have one goal – to improve the quality of people’s lives, which is also the cornerstone of Moldova’s accession negotiations to the European Union,” declared Jānis Mažeiks, Ambassador of the European Union to the Republic of Moldova.
Subsequently, the public security service through video surveillance of public spaces in the city, launched today, will enhance people’s safety during park walks or while crossing the main street, as these cameras will allow the Municipal Police, in partnership with Edineț City Hall, to monitor public order and intervene quickly when necessary. The viewed information will be stored on a server for a sufficient period to ensure the necessary intervention. For this purpose, 52 surveillance cameras have been installed in public spaces, pedestrian crossings on the city’s main street, and smart cameras at the city entrances, capable of remotely reading vehicle registration plates. Public recordings will also be accessible through the urban data platform https://smartedinet.md, currently under development. This service was developed in parallel with the modernization of public lighting, with an investment of over 600,000 EUR, and the creation of the urban data platform, supported with over 46,000 EUR – all implemented with financial support from the European Union.
In addition, the project installed a system for metering and managing non-revenue water within the public water supply service. For this, over 450 smart meters have been installed in an area covering about 500 water consumers. These meters measure water consumption and monitor overall consumption to identify and prevent unjustified water losses in the network. Approximately 360,000 EUR provided by the EU have been invested in developing and piloting this system.
At the same time, the project supported the creation and equipping of SmartLabs within 4 kindergartens in Edineț. In this way, preschool groups of children will be instructed by teachers according to a specially developed curriculum. Each SmartLab is designed and equipped to simultaneously host groups of up to 15 children. The European Union project allocated approximately 70,000 EUR for this initiative.
Moreover, today the works carried out by 5 homeowners’ associations in Edinet, beneficiaries of EU grants totaling around 169,000 EUR, were inaugurated. The grants were used to modernize the infrastructure adjacent to residential blocks, such as efficiently arranging public spaces in neighborhoods, paving, setting up functional areas, installing doors, intelligent lighting, and solutions for managing rainwater and green areas with an automated irrigation system.
“The project “Edinet – insights into tomorrow cities” once again demonstrates the importance of international partnerships and the support of the European Union in developing infrastructure and public services. We are committed to continuing this path of innovation and ensuring a better life for all our citizens. I thank everyone involved in this project and am confident that these initiatives will bring significant and lasting benefits to Edineț,” stated Constantin Cojocaru, Mayor of Edineț.
In December 2023, a series of other modernized and digitized public services were inaugurated within the project, including the sustainable public transport system, smart street lighting, investments in the local education system, and more.
In the autumn of this year, the inauguration of the “Dream Island” in Vasile Alecsandri Park in Edineț is planned. The island will be completely modernized and will include areas for walking, recreation, sports, exhibitions, playground, cinema, amphitheater, and boat dock, among others.
Background Information
The purpose of the project “Edinet – insights into tomorrow cities,” which is being implemented from March 1, 2021, to February 28, 2025, is to improve the quality of urban development, public services, and, in general, the living conditions of the citizens of Edineț by applying smart solutions in several urban development areas: local governance, public services, residential neighborhoods, business, and education.
The project budget is 4,358,886 EUR, of which 4,140,186 EUR is a grant from the European Union through the “Local Authorities: Partnerships for Sustainable Cities 2020” program, and 218,700 EUR is the contribution of the implementation partners.
The project started with the development of the General Urban Plan. This plan provides for the territorial development plan of the city for the next 15 years.
