Today, December 28, 2023, the General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Moldova, in partnership with the Iași County Inspectorate for Emergency Situations from Romania, inaugurated the Integrated Emergency Dispatch Center in the city of Bălți. The Dispatch Center was built with the support of the ‘Effective Joint Response in Cross-Border Emergency Situations’ project, code 1HARD 3.1/31.
The inauguration event was attended by the Prime Minister of the Republic of Moldova, Mr. Dorin Recean, the Minister of Internal Affairs, Mr. Adrian Efros, representatives of the Romanian Embassy in the Republic of Moldova, the leadership of local governments from the northern region of the country, and the manager of the General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations, Colonel Alexandru Oprea.
During the festive ceremony, Prime Minister Dorin Recean congratulated the team involved in the creation of an improved and efficient emergency response system to save lives and protect citizens. He emphasized the importance of cooperation between all units responsible for crisis management and the local governments and the entities that will benefit from the new service.
Minister of Internal Affairs Adrian Efros expressed gratitude to external partners and MIA staff for their efforts in constructing the dispatch center in record time. He assured that police, firefighters, and medical personnel will be on duty to respond in a prompt and resourceful manner in emergency situations, ensuring a reduced response time for citizens. The Minister stressed that the inauguration of the Integrated Dispatch Center, fitted out according to European standards, once again demonstrates that the Republic of Moldova is a trusted partner for the EU.
Colonel Alexandru Oprea mentioned that the idea of creating integrated dispatch centers came five years ago to two partners, the General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations from Moldova and the Iași Inspectorate for Emergency Situations from Romania. He emphasized that the creation of the Dispatch Center is a significant investment for Bălți, made possible thanks to the EU funding and the contribution of the Government of the Republic of Moldova.
The Emergency Dispatch Center in Bălți is responsible for managing emergency situations and will cover approximately 1 million people from 11 districts in the northern part of the Republic of Moldova, including the city of Bălți.
The Emergency Dispatch Center has facilities for hosting emergency service dispatchers, where firefighters, rescuers, police, and medical services will work together. It has modern installations, access control systems, heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems, furniture, and all other relevant rooms and equipment.
It is worth noting that the center is equipped with ICT tools necessary in routine activities and emergency management, as well as for joint coordination of cross-border response operations.
The integrated dispatch center in Balti has a similar infrastructure to its counterpart in Iași County, Romania, both having been built according to identical standards with the support of the above-mentioned project. During project implementation, communication and coordination procedures between the two emergency dispatch centers were defined.
The implementation of this project will lead to improved quality and efficiency of the services provided by both project beneficiaries to the public, as well as improved sharing of operational information between the units responsible for managing emergency situations.
The project with an estimated budget of 2.6 million EUR was funded by the European Union through the Joint Operational Program Romania – Republic of Moldova 2014 – 2020.
