Around 500 town halls in the Republic of Moldova have adopted final decisions on voluntary amalgamation, representing almost 60% of all town halls, Government Secretary General Alexei Buzu said during a TV program.
According to Buzu, the figure is an encouraging signal, as more than half of the country’s town halls have completed the process, while most others have already initiated it.
The Government official said the amalgamation process must continue to strengthen local authorities and enable them to implement larger development projects.
“We see that mayors are taking difficult decisions on behalf of the communities they represent. For those that have completed the amalgamation process, we have already started working on incentives and development projects. In parallel, we have launched the process of normative amalgamation,” Buzu said.
He added that the Government wants to create stronger town halls capable of attracting resources and implementing more ambitious projects.
Local elected officials that have already started the amalgamation process can adopt their final decisions by the end of August and then move on to preparing development projects.
“The Government will provide triple incentives, which is why I encourage everyone to make these decisions. Most mayors and local elected officials have already done so. We want to protect our villages and develop them. A village has a real chance to attract resources and investments for services and infrastructure only if it is part of a stronger town hall,” Buzu said.
According to the official, around 1,300 decisions related to the amalgamation process have been adopted so far. Some 85% of town halls have initiated the process, while around 500 have completed it.
“Some of them still have two weeks to complete the process, as council meetings are scheduled. At the end of August, we will have the final number of town halls that have adopted final decisions and will know how many have joined the new town hall groups,” Buzu said.
He added that the Government plans to clarify the situation regarding normative amalgamation in September and finalize the relevant legislative package before launching the parliamentary procedure.
According to government data, the 85% share represents 761 out of 890 town halls, or 90% of town halls with fewer than 3,000 inhabitants.
For town halls that have completed the voluntary amalgamation process, the next step is to prepare development projects linked to the Government’s incentives. For those that did not choose voluntary amalgamation, the authorities will proceed with normative amalgamation.
The Government has allocated an incentive package worth more than 6.5 billion lei for town halls that opt for voluntary amalgamation. The funds will support the expansion of water, sewerage, gas and street lighting networks, rehabilitation of local roads, development of public transport and digital services, waste management, modernization of kindergartens and community cultural centers, and local economic development projects.
The Government launched the local public administration reform at the beginning of 2026. The reform aims to strengthen the administrative capacity of town halls and improve the quality of public services.