The need to have good roads is dictated by the realities of the era we live in: the era of speed. And those who will move at the speed of a snail will remain with development at the knees of a frog.
The economy requires higher speed and shorter distances to reach the same point. Fuel costs are high and the level of wages in the field has increased, so each additional kilometer means more expensive time.
Society wants good roads for comfort and more optimal distances to travel to work faster and cheaper. Because in the last decade, the behavior of citizens has changed, those from villages travel daily to cities for a job, and those from cities have increasingly mobile services in the regions. People travel more, so they want comfort and lower expenses.
The country also has nothing to offer if it has a non-existent or precarious road infrastructure.
And yet, no matter how much we would like it, a modern road infrastructure is just an illusion. And the list of impediments is very long, complex, and for many positions our country has irreversibly missed the moment. What prevents Moldova from having a good road infrastructure is talked about little and in whispers.
But let's take them one by one and openly.
Problem No. 1 is the excessively large network of local, regional, national and international roads of the Republic of Moldova. To ensure the financing of the rehabilitation of the entire existing road network, we need 60 annual budgets of the road fund. Is Moldova capable of such a thing? Obviously not. And under these conditions, the only logical measure that is required is to reduce the road network to a level that can be financed and feasible for the national budget, which will not be different in the coming years. Simultaneously with the shortening of roads and their removal from civilian use and their introduction into the agricultural or industrial circuit, better and more direct roads must be built to connect localities or points that are in the economic, agricultural, logistical, tourist and social circuit.
Even in cases where it will not be possible to shorten distances by eliminating impassable roads, drivers will be willing to travel a slightly longer distance on a good road than to travel a shorter distance on a precarious road, destroying their car and with risks to their lives and the lives of their passengers.
The second problem is the strategy of building new roads in sections. Until the next section is built, the previous section is destroyed by heavy machinery. And so, in the Republic of Moldova, national roads will constantly be under repair.
Another cause that slows down the development of the road network are the constantly increasing prices for construction materials. From the moment the contract is signed until the work begins, up to 2 years can pass, during which time the prices of materials increase for the builder, and the possibilities for indexation according to the contracts are limited. Unfortunately, the bureaucracy is so complex that it takes builders time from signing the contracts to actually initiating the work on the site. And in order to enter the expected budget, builders are forced to constantly look for the cheapest sources of materials, which are not always the most qualitative and resistant.
Monopoly. In our country where road budgets flow through the same tap, the development of monopolies was only a matter of desire and time. And today we have a hard monopoly for road repair and rehabilitation works, over 2/3 of the works being held in one hand. The form in which this monopoly manifests itself is diverse and constantly changing so as not to be identified. And the rest of the companies receive a meager volume of works, just enough to resist and create the impression of competition.
Of course, there are several problems and impediments to the full development of road infrastructure. And unfortunately, there is no magic solution to remove them. Although we really want to have good roads and to travel quickly, but safely. Because a modern road infrastructure would convince a lot of people to stay in the country. And some of those who left to return.
Obviously, we, at Ecosem Grup, as a real estate developer, have a direct interest in having good roads, because every family that remains in the country or returns from abroad is a potential client for our apartments.