Discusses the legal requirements for selling to the host government, including whether the government has agreed to abide by the WTO Government Procurement Agreement or is a party to a government procurement chapter in a U.S. FTA. Specifies areas where there are opportunities.
Last Published: 11/30/2017

Virtually all Moldovan governmental agencies can conduct procurements.  All important acquisitions technically require competitive bidding with strict formal requirements that limit the extent of sole sourcing.  Public procurement procedures are overseen by the Public Procurement Agency.  The Agency publishes procurement announcements in an electronic bulletin that can be accessed via on-line subscription.

Since 2012, businesses have access to an electronic procurement system.  To increase further transparency and access for interested parties, the Ministry of Finance, with the support of EBRD and local IT companies, is piloting an e-platform for public procurement to make it easier for anyone interested to have access to public procurement notices and tender documentation.  First tested for small procurements, the platform is scheduled to be extended to encompass the entire range of procurements organized by public authorities by March 2018.

Moldova adopted a new Law on Public Procurements in 2016 to align governmental practices with EU practices and WTO Government Procurement Agreement GPA that it formally joined in 2016.

Domestic and foreign organizations often criticize Moldova's public procurement practices for insufficient transparency.  The time allowed for preparing bids after the announcement of a tender is frequently short and documentation requirements, including translation into Romanian, can be onerous for companies not based in Moldova.  Also, budgetary constraints often limit the local government’s purchasing power.  Internationally financed public procurements are usually the most transparent and provide the best opportunities for U.S. companies.  International tenders organized by the World Bank, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), and other international organizations represent good opportunities.

Many governments finance public works projects through borrowing from the Multilateral Development Banks. Please refer to the ”Project Financing” Section in “Trade and Project Financing” for more information.
 
Public Procurement Agency
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