The legislative body ratified the framework lending agreement between Moldova and the Council of Europe Development Bank for implementing a project to build a penitentiary that will replace the one situated in central Chisinau. The loan totals €39 million, IPN reports.

Deputy Minister of Justice Nicolae Esanu said the penitentiary will be constructed according to the European standards, in a peripheral area of Chisinau. It will have a capacity of about 1,600 places. It is planned that it will accommodate 1,200 detainees of Penitentiary No. 13 from the center of Chisinau and 400 arrested persons from police stations.

The loan will be disbursed in two tranches. The size of each tranche will depend on the volume of planned works. The first tranche will not exceed 30% of the loan.

The loan is repayable in 20 years, with a grace period of 5 years. The interest rate will be set for every tranche separately. Besides the €39 million, the bank will contribute a grant of €1 million from its social fund for financing technical assistance needs. The Government of Moldova will contribute €4.5 million.

The project will be implemented by June 30, 2018.

The Communist parliamentary group said it is against taking out the loan. MP Oxana Domenti stated that the loan is very large, while the pensions and allowances in Moldova are very low.