Balti Municipality, which history dates back to 1421, is located 138 km to the north of Chishinau, the capital
of the Republic of Moldova, 65 km from the border with Romania (Customs controls in Sculeni) and 120
km from the border with the Ukraine (Customs Controls in Otaci). In 1818 this locality gets its town.
In 1994 Balti became a municipality, which also includes the villages of Sadovoe and Elizaveta. The territory
of Balti Municipality and both of these villages constitutes is 7800.6 ha. The total number of permanent
inhabitants amount to 151,3 thousand people, out of which 66,5% represent able population, 18,6 are above
the working – age, and 14,9% are below this age.
In 2016 the average nominal wages amounted to / constituted 5210,3 lei or 249,4 euro.
Business and Industry
The enterprising activity in Balti Municipality is rather intensive as on its territory 8843 economic agents,
both physical (3677) and juridical (5166) persons, implement their enterprising activity. According to statistical
data, 97,4% of them represent enterprises of small and medium-sized businesses and 2,6% comprise
large enterprises. The most attractive branches of industry for local entrepreneurs are commerce (45%) and
processing industry (10,5%). The industrial sector is a top priority matter of the local economy, its potential
being ensured (maintained) by a whole range of enterprises of national and international importance, by
the existence of the industrial park “Raut” and the Free Economic Zone “Balti”. In 2016 the volume of the
total industrial output produced by the enterprises located on the territory of Balti Municipality amounted
up to 5189,9 million lei (248,4 million euro) which constituted 58,6% of the total volume of all the industrial
output produced at the regional level and 12,3% at the republican level.
The high level of industrialization of the local economy is determined by the correlation between 89,9% of
the processing industry production and 10,1% of the production of electric and thermal energy / power, gas
and water.
Export
The export capacity of Balti Municipal District is ensured by the industrial enterprises working in such
spheres of business activity as electric equipment industry, textile industry and food processing industry.
In 2016 the volume of exports / exported products amounted to / constituted 2360,6 million lei (113 million
euro) or 45,5% of the total volume of all the industrial output produced in 2016.
In 2016 the volume of the exported industrial output at the local level comprised 60,5% of the total volume
of industrial output exported at the regional level and 16,1% of all the exported products at the national
level.
The Investment Climate
In 2016 the management team of the local public administration has made substantial efforts to become a
faithful partner for the foreign and local investors, facilitating the development of the projects that create
work places and increase export. Despite a very austere budget under the limits of covering all APL tasks on
the level II, the team has implemented the planned projects. Taking into consideration the necessity to attract
investments in Balti, through the promotion and their protection basing on the judicial, social and economic
norms and equality for the investing activity, the establishment of equal guarantees for both domestic
and foreign investors, preventing and removing obstacles that can affect investors and their investments,
Balti Municipal Council has gathered its efforts in order to make this process more effective and to create
a safe investment climate and a predictable policy environment in accordance with the current legislation:
The Constitution of the Republic of Moldova, The Law of the Republic of Moldova regarding the investments
in the entrepreneurial activity, the Law of the Republic of Moldova regarding the foreign investments
and basing on 16 free trade agreements signed by the Republic of Moldova in CSI and the Stability Pact for
the South-Eastern Europe, as well as the Free Trade Agreement with Turkey, etc.
Nowadays, Balti, that is favourably geographically positioned in the Northern Region of Development, enjoys
an appropriate investment climate, which represents an essential factor for the investment attraction (in
long-term assets, foreign investors and investments) for the real sector of the locality. The Balti Municipal
Council intends to contribute to the effective promotion, implementation and management of the local and
foreign investments, provides stability in consolidation with an adequate and dynamic environment for the
development of the investment activity. The significant increase in the process of investment attraction in
Balti is largely due to the existence of Balti Free Economic Zone on this territory, as well as the potential
for the expansion of the industrial sectors in the Industrial Park S.A. “Raut” and the entrepreneurs that in
their turn represent a strategic platform for the foreign investments attraction for the “North Capital” of the
country.
Owing to the fiscal customs and facilities offered by the legislation of the Republic of Moldova, the location
of international organizations and transnational corporation on the FEZ Balti, Free Economic Zone “Balti”
presents a great interest for the business development between Western and Eastern markets.
Balti Municipal District as an economic and administrative center of the North Region enjoys the existence
of the inclusive and competitive infrastructure to attract investments in the local economy.
In 2016 the total flow of investments in the local economy increased up to 1 016, 1 million lei or 48,6 million
Euro, including 40,6 % from foreign investments.
The volume of investments registered in 2016 amounted to 45,8 % of the total volume of the investments
made at the region level and 5,2 % of the total volume of investments made at the national level.
Transport
Balti Municipal District is an important transport node in the northern part of the country, where important
national and international roads, national and international transport routes (roads, railways and air
routes) intersect.
The town has an air access with the help of two airports – Balti International Airport and Marculesti International
Airport and it has two railway stations. The presence of the railways on the territory of the municipal
district and their location near the industrial areas represents a great advantage and a way of access to
the CIS countries and the EU.
The provision of passenger transport services is carried out by the means of public transport and car transport.
The public electric transport is provided by the municipal “Trolleybus Directorate” with a total of 44
trolleybuses and a 38,6 km length of the electric power networks.
Education
Balti Municipality is the most important educational center in the northern part of the Republic of Moldova,
with a strong human and intellectual potential, second in the Republican rankings.
The education system in the municipal district is structured on several levels: pre-school, primary, gymnasium
and lyceum. The educational process in the municipality is organized and carried out in 26 general
secondary education institutions, attended by 13 054 students. The access of children and pupils from the
municipality to education is carried out in Balti through the activity of 75 general education institutions, of
which 35 kindergartens, 2 elementary schools, 11 gymnasiums, 13 theoretical high schools, 15 extracurricular
institutions (5 Sports Schools Centers, “M. Blanc” Creative Center, Youth Tourism Station, “Moștenitorii”
Teenagers and Youth Resource Center and seven municipal centers for minors and youth).
In the academic year 2016-2017 97 students were delegated to the Republican competitions, of which 37
won prizes, representing 40% of the participants.
Also, the participation of the pupils from the educational institutions in the municipality with 6 projects
at the “Mold-SEF” National Science and Engineering Contest were highly appreciated at the national level.
The training of specialists in different fields is concentrated in 5 vocational schools, 6 colleges and a State
Higher Education Institution “Alecu Russo” State University, which represents a solid basis for the development
of human resources and the provision of qualified labor force enterprises. An important role in this
respect is the Center for Excellence in Services and Food Processing and the Career Development Center,
which educates and helps the unemployed, returning home emigrants and graduates in obtaining a job in
the Republic of Moldova. The Center was launched in Balti through the “Innovative Entrepreneurship for
Sustainable Employment” project, implemented by the United Nations Development Program in the Republic
of Moldova (UNDP) with the support of SYSLAB International and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
of Norway. Thanks to the State University “Alecu Russo”, Bălţi has the most qualifiedl language learning
center in the Republic of Moldova. The institution is a member of about 30 international consortia and has
established over 70 collaboration agreements with national and international higher education institutions.
In order to prepare highly qualified specialists, Balti Municipal Council concluded Cooperation Agreements
with the Federal State Higher Education Institution “State University of Agrarian University of St. Petersburg”
and the Federal State Higher Education Institution “State University of Engineering And Economics
in the Nijniy Novgorod Region “, to which, starting with 2016, 18 students from Balti Municipal District and
the northern districts of the Republic of Moldova were registered on the basis of budget quotas.
Health
The potential of the branch of health protection at the local level lies in the IMSP “Municipal Clinical Hospital
Bălţi” with 938 beds, IMSP “Balti Municipal Family Physicians Center” with 6 Health Centers and IMSP
“Balti Dental Center”.Due to the relatively high concentration of medical institutions in the municipality
and the diversification of the medical services rendered at a local level, Balti Municipal District is considered
the most important medical center at the regional level.˝In order to increase and maintain a healthy population,
and to ensure a local economy with a strong and productive labor force capable of generating a high
level of productivity, 10 municipal health programs are implemented at the local level, including: combating
viral hepatitis B, C and D, prevention of cardiovascular disease control, anti-drug, alcohol control, etc. IMSP
“Bălţi Municipal Clinical Hospital” was founded in the year 1872. Currently, the hospital has seven blocks of
in-patient treatment, where 938 beds and 2 blocks for specialized consultative services are deployed.The city
has a diverse network of private medical hospitals: clinics, laboratories and pharmacies.
Social Assistance
The social assistance in Balti Municipal District is represented by the Department of Social Assistance and
Family Protection with a number of social services.
Between the years 2011-2017, the following projects were implemented for the residents of Balti:
1. “Supporting the development of home-care medical-social services” (Home-Care) in Moldova, with the
financial support from the Czech Republic under the “Czech Development Cooperation” Program (2013-
2015). In order to ensure the durability of the project, the public institution Medical-Social Centre “Rebeca”
was created, the Regulation on the organization and functioning of the “Rebeca” medical and social day
center, its structure and personnel staff was approved by the decision of the Bălţi Municipal Council Nr.3 /
9 from 31.03.2016. The institution has been accredited for a period of 5 years according to the accreditation
certificate No. 3056 from 28.12.2016.
2. “Strengthening the referral mechanism for children under the criminal liability and those in conflict with
the law” with the support of UNICEF Moldova in partnership with the Institute of Penal Reforms (2013-
2014).
3. “Prevention of institutionalization and establishing a form of family type protection for children from the
temporary Placement Center and Balti Rehabilitation Center” with the financial support of UK HHC and
the Embassy of Finland in Bucharest (March 2014 – December 2017).
The results of the implementation of the project “Children of Moldova – Understanding needs, service development,
system reform” with the financial support of UNICEF and HHC United Kingdom.
4. “Young children – understand the needs, develop services, reform the system” in the North Region, with
the support of UNICEF and HHC United Kingdom (January 2016 – December 2017).
5. Developing an enhancing social entrepreneurial project for the inclusion of people with disabilities in the
workplace.
The project is implemented on the basis of the Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2014 between the
Ministry of Labor, Social Protection and Family of the Republic of Moldova and the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs of the Kingdom of Norway on cooperation in the social inclusion of people with disabilities. Balti
Municipal District was selected as a pilot area.
For this purpose, at the local level, a project is being developed in partnership with the NGO “Business
Women” on the implementation of Norway’s good practices in the development and adaptation of workplaces
for people with disabilities.
Culture
The cultural environment of Bălţi municipality is represented by the following cultural institutions: the
Museum of History and Ethnography, Bălţi, “Antioh Cantemir” Pinacoteca, “George Enescu” Music School,
„Ciprian Porumbescu” School of Arts, The School of Fine Arts for Children, „Eugeniu Coseriu” Municipal
Library with 9 branches, the Municipal Cultural Palace, the Center for Culture and Youth, the „Molodovo”
House of Culture, the Flacăra House of Culture, the „Veteranul” Cultural House, The “Craftsman’s House”,
the Village House of Culture from Elizaveta, House of Culture village from Sadovoe.
The ethnic and linguistic diversity of Balti Municipal District revealed by the population census from 2014
is 102 457 residents, from this number 94 427 people have indicated their etnicity: Moldovans – 60,6%,
Ukranians – 18,5%, Russians – 16,0%, Romanians – 2,9%, Gagauz – 0,1%, Bulgarians – 0,2%, Roma – 0,2%,
and other ethnic groups – 1,5%. Currently, 12 ethno-cultural organizations are active in the municipality.
The monumental heritage values represent a significant prestigious educational tool of the locality. Balti
Municipal District has 67 public monuments (of history, art and architecture) from different epochs. Of
the total number, 43 monuments are included in the Register of monuments of national importance and
24 monuments are included in the Register of monuments of local importance. The city benefits not only
from the man-made and natural heritage. „Andrieş Children’s” Park, Central Park and Victory Park, all of
which have the status of a public monument, offer a range of leisure opportunities. Based on Balti’s heritage,
an attractive tourist route can be created for the city’s guests and will include both the man-made and the
natural heritage.
Communal Household Services
The municipal communal household is a complex mechanism structured on the provided services domains.
However, although it is administered at the appropriate level, it requires consistent investment in machinery
and equipment, as these are of an advanced degree of attrition. Nevertheless, the 12 municipal enterprises
make increased efforts to maintain the housing stock, public roads, communication networks, etc., maintaining
the appealing aspect of the locality.
The directors of the enterprises do not miss the opportunity to be actively involved in attracting investments
in order to make public services more efficient, and they are already having success in the field.
EXTERNAL RELATIONSHIPS
The scientific-technological, cultural-educational and spiritual development of a municipal community is
determined, in particular, by the establishment, maintenance and expansion of external relations, as well as
the promotion of the locality on the international arena.
Due to the preservation of the economic and social development vector and the primary directions aimed at
increasing the quality of life of the citizens and supporting a stable, diverse business environment, Balti Municipal
District has established and maintains continuously the collaboration with 34 twinned and partner
cities from abroad. Owing to the fact that the External Relations Service and the attraction of investments
as a separate subdivision was established only in 2013, the conclusion of the first Twinning Agreement
between Balti (Republic of Moldova) and Strîi (Ukraine) date back to 1980 and enjoys cooperation on various
areas with cities in 16 countries in the West, East, East Asia, South-West Asia, Middle East, according
to the table below: Effective cooperation with the partner city of Vinnitsa (Ukraine) was the basis for the
preparation and implementation of the energy efficiency project in Balti: “Sustainable Energy Planning in
Eastern European and Southern Caucasus Countries – to the Mayors Convention – Moldova, Ukraine and
Azeirbadjan “, funded by the European Union, with a budget of 112 696.00 US dollars.
Collaboration with neighboring cities Chernivtsi (Ukraine) and Suceava (Romania) strengthened the process
of developing and implementing the cross-border project “Border protection against homeless animals’
threats”, funded by the European Union in the amount of 21 450 00 Euro for Bălţi, as a partner.
Considering the fact that during bilateral official visits between the representatives of Balti Municipal Council
and the administrations of the twinned towns and cities there is an exchange of perpetual experience in
all aspects of the services and problems of the local public administrations, new twinning and partnership
relations have been established and developed with the following localities during the last two years.
Taking into consideration the exchange of experience during bilateral official visits between the representatives
of Balti Municipal Council and the administrations of twinned towns, direct contacts were established
and developed with the representatives of the business environment – there were opened Balti commercial
houses in the federal city of St. Petersburg and Nijnii Novgorod (Russian Federation) and the Center for
Innovations and Technological Transfer at the State University „Alecu Russo” in Balti.
Significant results on the collaboration with the Western District of Moscow was also maintained by the
multifunctional specialized equipment donation for the Balti town sanitation at the 585-year anniversary of
Balti city.
PARTICIPATION in PROJECTS
Promoting and supporting the investment activity is a priority in the socio-economic development of the
Balti Municipal District. The solution of the stringent problems in the field of social development, housing-
communal households and infrastructure has a priority in the investment activity of the municipality.
Balti Municipal Council has gained significant experience in implementing investment projects, both nationally
and internationally, including projects with the World Bank credit line, EBRD, etc.
During 2011-2016, a number of projects were developed and carried out, with the support of the experts
from specialized subdivision of the Balti Municipal Council and external relations and investment inquiry,
aiming at improving the living conditions of the residents of Balti Municipal District and the city attractiveness.
Projects funded from the national budget:
– “Connecting the Free Economic Zone” Balti “to the municipal utilities: water, sewerage, electricity, access
roads” (donor: National Fund for Regional Development (NFRD), total cost of the project – 16.2 million lei);
– “Expansion of the central water and sewage system in Balti Nou district (Balti New District) of Balti municipality”
(donor: National Ecological Fund (FEN), total cost of the project – 6.9 million lei);
– “Supporting the development of the private sector and the process of attracting investments in the North
Development Region through the construction of the water and sewerage networks for sub-area no. 3 of the
Free Economic Zone Balti “(donor: NFRD, total cost of the project -14.8 million lei);
– “Supporting the development of the industrial sector in the North Development Region through the rehabilitation
and modernization of the water and sewerage infrastructure for the Industrial Park on the territory
of S.A. Raut, mun. Balti “(donor: NFRD, total cost of the project – 14.4 million lei).
Projects funded by international funds:
– “Sustainable Energy Planning in Eastern European and Southern Caucasus Countries – to the Mayors
Convention – Moldova, Ukraine and Azerbaijan” (donor: European Union, total cost of the project: US $
112 696,00);
– “Territorial Strategic Agenda for Small and Medium Urban Systems (STATUS)” (donor: National Fund for
Regional Development (NFRD), total cost of the project – 102 430,00 Euro);
– “Protection of the frontiers against threats caused by homeless animals” (donor: European Union), total
cost of the project – 21 450 00 Euro);
– “Improving the conditions for training of athletes at the Sports Specialized School “B. Petuhov” and” Modernization
of the Technological Equipment of the Kindergarten “Nr. 3 “(donor: Slovak Embassy in Slovakia
Slovak Aid, total cost of projects – 9 996,00 Euro);
– The project of modernization the public transport “Trolleybuses for Balti” (donor: European Bank for
Reconstruction and Development (credit) and European Union (grant), total cost of the project: Credit – 3
million Euro and Grant – 1,6 million euro.
Projects carried out with the financial support of the Bălţi local budget, regarding the energy efficiency
measures:
1. Measures for energy efficiency: replacement of windows in 7 pilot kindergartens in Balti (realized);
2. Modernization of the Technological Equipment of the Kindergarten Nr. 3 (implemented); As a result of
the implementation of the project, the cascade system of autonomous heating was installed in seven pilot
kindergartens of the municipality, which resulted in the optimization of the expenditures for payment of
the consumed heating, payment fixed only for the natural gas actually used. Decentralization of the heating
system in 7 pilot kindergartens (realized);
3. Modernization of public transport “Trolleybuses for Balti” (in progress);
The modernization of public transport and the optimization of operational costs and the alleged energy savings
will ensure both long-term and short-term sustainability of the electric service activity by improving
the speed offered by new trolleybuses, operational safety and overall efficiency. This experience in co-operation
with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development offers the opportunity to work together
in other municipal projects on road infrastructure, aqueduct, sewage, district heating, etc.
4. Enhancing the energy efficiency of Dimitrie Cantemir Theoretical High School in Balti Municipal District
;
5. i3 – Innovative Intelligent Infrastructure (applied). The present and future situation after the integrated
measures for reconstruction and change of the 9th district infrastructure, in terms of efficiency and prevention
of climate change, give the city of Balti the possibility to claim the status of Green and Smart City.