Moldova urged to focus on key hubs as 350 firms drive industry
Just 350 companies generate more than 80% of Moldova's industrial output, prompting economic analyst Ghenadie Ivascenco to urge the government to abandon fragmented local platforms and prioritize strategic industrial hubs.
While official registries list more than 5,000 industrial enterprises across the country, real economic output relies on a narrow core. Current production remains heavily concentrated in major urban centers, with the capital Chisinau accounting for 59.5% and the northern hub of Balti generating 18%. Smaller shares are held by Ungheni at 2.9%, Soroca at 2.1%, and Cahul and Edinet at 1.3% each.
Learning from Central Europe's empty parks
Ivascenco warned that government plans to set up industrial platforms in every municipality carry significant risks. International experience demonstrates that major foreign direct investment flows almost exclusively to areas that already possess established economic foundations, logistics networks, and supporting infrastructure.
“Dozens of industrial parks across Poland, Hungary, and Slovakia remain empty today because they failed to attract investors,” Ivascenco said. “We must learn from these countries not only what they did right, but also what they are currently trying to correct.”
Strategic recommendations for the next five years
To maximize economic impact, the expert outlined key recommendations for policymakers:
- Consolidate Resources on Viable Ecosystems: Rather than funding numerous under-equipped small parks, the state should direct capital toward infrastructure, logistics, vocational training, and supply chains around existing industrial cores.
- Choose Strategic Focus Over Dispersion: Moldova must make a clear five-year strategic decision between financing 30 rudimentary platforms or building six to seven robust industrial hubs capable of driving regional growth.
- Engage Top Producers Directly: Given that approximately 500 executives oversee 95% of national industrial output, direct consultation offers the fastest route to identify operational bottlenecks.
“The prime minister holds an advantage few European leaders have: he can gather nearly all of them in a single room at the Palace of the Republic and ask one simple question: 'What is stopping you from doubling your production?'” Ivascenco said. “Such a discussion would reveal far more about real industrial obstacles than another 200-page bureaucratic strategy.”
Translation by Iurie Tataru
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