Balti Free Economic Zone

The Balti Free Economic Zone ( Moldovan Zona Economică Liberă “Bălţi” ) is a part of the territory of the Balti municipality with certain boundaries, within which a special legal regime is established and applies to the residents of this free economic zone for them to carry out investment and entrepreneurial activities.

The Balti Free Economic Zone was created on the basis of the Law adopted by the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova dated March 4, 2010 with the aim of developing the industry sector of mechanical engineering and metalworking, attracting foreign investment, as well as increasing the export potential of the republic. ^[one]

Resident of the Beltsy FEZ - a legal entity of the Republic of Moldova or an individual entrepreneur of the Republic of Moldova, registered by the administration of the free economic zone as a resident of the free economic zone in the manner prescribed by the legislation on free economic zones.

A special legal regime of a free economic zone is a set of legal norms establishing a special taxation and other regulation regime and providing for more favorable than generally established conditions for investment and business activities.

The administration of the free economic zone is the governing body of the free economic zone created in the manner and form provided for by the Law of the Republic of Moldova dated July 27, 2001 No. 440-XV “On Free Economic Zones”. ^[2]

The legislation on free economic zones is based on the Constitution of the Republic of Moldova and consists of the Law of the Republic of Moldova dated July 27, 2001 No. 440-XV “On Free Economic Zones” and other legislative acts regulating the creation, functioning and liquidation of free economic zones.

The Balti Free Economic Zone is part of the territory of the Balti Municipality of the Republic of Moldova . Balti Municipality is located 130 km northwest of Chisinau on the Reut River. The second most populated city in the country (after Chisinau) is about 150 thousand inhabitants. Balti is the economic and cultural center of the northern region. The area of ​​the city is 60 km², with suburbs - 78 km².

The unofficial capital of the north of Moldova, Balti Municipality, is a large industrial center, the basis of the economic potential of which is the engineering, food, light and instrument-making industries. The annual volume of industrial production (in average prices for 2004) is 2.2 billion lei. The specialized educational institutions of Balti provide training for highly qualified specialists in these sectors. Located at the intersection of the most important trans-European highways West-East and North-South, Balti is also a major transport hub, including an extensive network of roads and railways. Balti has two airports. One of them is Balti-Lyadovena International Airport , modern by Soviet standards, built in the 80s, where large jet airliners can land (one runway with a length of 2,200 meters).

Currently, the Balti Free Economic Zone consists of 5 plots: 1.4 ha on the street. Dovator, 86, as well as 10.35 ha on the street. Industrial, 4, and 148 hectares along Aerodromnaya Street, which gives the free economic zone access to the railway and motorways of national and international importance (E583). In addition, the SEZ has a communal infrastructure, production facilities and warehouses.

At the end of 2017, there were 55 resident companies in the SEZ Bălți. Their total investment amounted to about 162 million dollars. Residents of the SEZ created more than 6,200 direct jobs with an average salary of over 11,600 lei. The total turnover of residents of the SEZ Bălți in 2017 amounted to more than 4 billion lei, of which 2.75 billion lei - from the sale of industrial products. These results are almost equal or even superior to the results of all other free economic zones of the country taken together.

In 2018, a project to expand the zone was adopted. The approved project provides for the inclusion in the SEZ Bălți of several territories, namely:

- Two plots of land with a total area of ​​more than 2.5 hectares per mun. Balti

- two plots of land with a total area of ​​0.4 hectares in the city of Cahul;

- a plot of land with an area of ​​8.92 hectares in the city of Stefan Voda;

- a land plot of 20 hectares in the city of Cimislia;

- two land plots with an area of ​​more than 3 hectares per mun. Terrified;

- three plots of land with a total area of ​​almost 1.5 hectares in the village of Albinetsul Vek in the Falesti region;

- A plot of land with an area of ​​8.5234 hectares in the city of Rezina.