Saving “Orheiul Vechi” would cost over €5 million

The Cultural-Natural Reserve “Orheiul Vechi” is in danger because of the inadequate storing conditions and the poor state of heritage items, Info-Prim Neo has learned from reserve director Valeriu Pasa. According to him, the situation could be saved through an urgent intervention for preserving the natural monument. The estimated cost for the first stage is €60,000. “However, the situation cannot be remedied without serious investment. We would need about €5 million in the investment stage”, said Valeriu Pasa. The reserve director claims that if the necessary investment for preservation and restoration are made, the medium term clear economic benefits will be €2-3 million per year. So far, projects for the construction of water supply piping and for the rehabilitation of the access road have been implemented. In 2012, investments of over 13 million lei have been obtained through foreign projects. However, Valeriu Pasa says this funding isn’t enough. Recently, the Reserve was helped by the Government to obtain a 10 million lei project from the Japanese Government. Valeriu Pasa estimated that the Cultural-Natural Reserve “Orheiul Vechi” could be included in the UNESCO world heritage in 2014. The things to be done until then are the development of the strategy for sustainable development and for harnessing the touristic potential, of the management plan and the finalization of the application file for UNESCO.