European investments in Crihana Veche: More jobs for villagers
Local authorities are looking for solutions to boost economic development in the context of the shortage of jobs in rural areas. Recently, in the village of Crihana Veche, Cahul district, a Business Development Center was inaugurated, aimed at attracting investors and creating new employment opportunities for both locals and residents of neighboring villages.
The Business Development Center has three levels, each floor intended for a company. The authorities hope to generate about 100 jobs for the village's residents.
"Crihana Veche is facing demographic problems like other localities. That is why we hope that by attracting these residents, these economic agents who will also create jobs, we will attract people from abroad and even from neighboring localities", said Igor Miclauș, mayor of the locality.
The first beneficiary of the center has already settled on the ground floor of the building. It is a store chain from Romania, which has hired seven people.
"We opted for Crihana Veche primarily for this building. As I said earlier, one of the main criteria for choosing one location over another is the speed with which we can open, and we already have a location that can provide us with the capacity and the geographical location we need”, explained Filip Popescu, project manager of the chain store.
The villagers welcome this initiative because there is an acute job crisis in the locality.
“A very good idea, because it is in the village and it is convenient for people. I am looking for a job”;
“The youth are leaving because they have do not have a job”;
The renovation of the building, the rehabilitation of the water and sewage infrastructure, the construction of an access road to the national road, as well as the arrangement of a parking lot and the installation of an efficient lighting system cost 600 thousand euros. More than half of this amount was obtained through the “EU4Moldova: Key Regions” project.
*“EU4Moldova: Key Regions” is a complex program that assists two regions of the Republic of Moldova, Cahul and Ungheni, contributing to the socio-economic development of these regions. The development of regions matters a lot. Thanks to the European Union, these resources are not directed only to a single locality or a specific space, but the aim is for the regions of Moldova to develop harmoniously so that people have employment opportunities,” said Alexandru Plevan, program manager.
Over the past five years, the project funded by the EU, UNDP and UNICEF has provided Cahul district with 10 million euros, money used to develop several social and economic initiatives.
