The European Union will allocate €10 million in funding for the expansion of the Iasi-Ungheni pipeline to Chisinau, according to a statement released by Moldova’s Ministry of Economy. Chisinau, the capital and largest city of Moldova, is a major industrial and commercial centre and the country’s primary consumer of gas.
The Iasi-Ungheni pipeline, a 43 km interconnector, which runs from Ungheni, west of Moldova, to Iasi, east of Romania, was inaugurated on 27 August 2014. As the first and only direct gas pipeline connecting the country to the EU, it is designed to reduce dependence on Russian gas. Construction of the pipeline cost approximately €26 million (US$ 33.5 million); €7 million (US$ 9 million) of this was provided by the European Union.
Edited from various sources by Rosalie Starling
Sources: RIA Novosti, Business Review, Ministry of Economy