Dear friends!
In March 2010, we managed to create and launch the activity of the Free Economic Zone “Balti”. During the 14 years of activity, the Balti Free Trade Zone has experienced a continuous and dynamic development, marked by the implementation of projects of strategic importance for the country. This has been possible both thanks to the efforts made and to the fact that many times existing stereotypes have been overcome. Through our own examples and results we have demonstrated that Moldova can be an attractive location for Transnational Corporations with investment projects worth tens of millions of USD. For this, it is important to understand the expectations and needs of investors and to make every effort to meet and exceed these expectations. By following such a strategy, we have so far succeeded in attracting investments of more than USD 300 million to Moldova and creating about 10000 direct jobs. Most importantly, however, the Balti FEZ continues to develop, its potential not being fully realized yet.
Despite the fact that the “Balti” FEZ is the “youngest” of the six free economic zones in Moldova, it is developing most dynamically. At the same time, “Balti” FEZ can be considered a reference model for other similar structures, which has fully fulfilled the purpose for which it was created. Throughout, the years, “Balti” FEZ has succeeded in becoming a center of industrial revitalization and regional development. “Balti” FEZ currently manages 19 sub-zones, located in 12 localities covering all three development regions of the country.
We are continuing to make greater efforts to revive the country’s industrial potential and set ourselves other ambitious goals. These efforts are materializing in successful results and new projects.
I am convinced that the positive experience gained as a result of the work of the “Balti” FEZ team will be able to lay the foundation for a new page in the industrial and economic development of the country as a whole.
Major events
13 February 2010 – Government approves draft law on “Balti” FEZ
4 March 2010 – The Parliament adopts the Law on the “Balti” FEZ (no. 26 of 04.03.2010). Initially, the “Balti” FEZ included the 1.5 ha of land in 86 Dovator street, Balti municipality (subzone no. 1) and the land with an area of 10.35 ha, located on 4 Industrial Street, Balti (subzone no. 2).
23 March 2010 – Law No 26 of 04.03.2010 on the “Balti” FEZ is published in the Official Monitor (No 39-40). Also, on the same day, the Government of the Republic of Moldova appoints Mr. Marin CIOBANU as Chief Administrator of the Balti FEZ (GD No 214 of 23 March 2010).
6 May 2010 – Government approves the Regulation on the “Balti” FEZ
17 May 2010 – The administration of the “Balti” FEZ holds the first competition for the selection of residents. According to the results of the competition, the winners were declared ICS “DRAEXLMAIER AUTOMOTIVE” SRL and “CLARITATE” SA, located in subzone no. 1 of the Balti city.
On 26 May 2010 – the official opening of the Free Economic Zone “Balti” took place. The ribbon was cut by Mr. Siegfried ANGERER (General Manager of the DRÄXLMAIER GROUP’s locations in Eastern Europe and China) and Mr. Valeriu LAZĂR (First Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Economy).
24 September 2010 – By Parliament Law no. 243 of 24.09.2010, a land with an area of 110.00 ha, located on Aerodromului Street no. 1, mun. Balti was included in ,,Balti” FEZ (subzone no. 3).
On 10 May 2011, in the Free Economic Zone “Balti”, subzone no. Balti, was launched the second factory of the German concern DRÄXLMAIER GROUP
In May 2012, within the “Balti” FEZ”, subzone no. 2 in the city of Balti, started the construction of the factory for the production of industrial cables by the Austrian company “Gebauer & Griller Cables & Wires EE”.
05 October 2012– Extension of the “Balti” FEZ in Balti city takes place. Also, in accordance with the Parliament Law No. 193 of 05.10.2012, the land with an area of 12.00 hа, located on V. Crasescu Street No. 1, Straseni, was included in “Balti” FEZ. At the same time, the area of subzone no. 1 of Balti was extended to 2.02 ha.
April 2013 – The partnership between ZEL “Balti” and the Technical University of Ilmenau (Thüringen, Germany) for the creation of the Active Technical Training Centre (College of Engineering in Straseni) was established. The building of the College was completely renovated.
On 24 October 2013, the Italian capital enterprise “La Triveneta Cavi Development” LTD became a resident of the FEZ “Balti”, starting the construction of a factory for the production of medium and low voltage electrical wiring.
06 December 2013 – “Balti” FEZ initiates, together with several resident industrial companies and local companies the creation of the Employers’ Association of the Manufacturing Industry (APIP), which is registered on 17 January 2014. At the end of 2017, APIP gathers around 30 members, including well-known names in the national industry such as “Zorile”, “Moldagrotehnica”, “Introscop”, “Răut”, etc., along with internationally renowned companies and investors, such as: “Draexlmaier Automotive”, “Gebauer&Griller”, “Lear Corporation”, “La Triveneta Cavi Development”, “Sumitomo Electric (SE) Bordnetze”, “Coroplast Harness Technology”, “Strabag”, etc. The main goal of APIP is to support and promote the interests of its members, especially in relation to state authorities, but also internationally.
3 April 2014 – Austrian company “Gebauer &Griller Cables&Wires EE” has put into operation in the Free Economic Zone Balti, subzone no. 2, Balti its first factory for the production of electric cables for the automotive industry, in which it invested about $28 million and created 100 new direct jobs.
04 November 2014 residents of the Free Economic Zone “Balti” became foreign capital enterprises ÎCS “BLACKSEA-EMS” SRL and ÎCS “EMIPANEL” SRL (subzone no. 4, Straseni). EMIPANEL SRL invested approx. 5 million in the production of sandwich panels with polyurethane filling, creating over 30 new jobs. BLACKSEA-EMS investments in the production of control equipment for LED lighting systems will amount to approx. 1.5 million.
On 31 July 2015 the Parliament adopted the extension of the Balti FTA in Straseni and Causeni. By Law No. 169, the Balti FEZ included:
a) a plot of land with an area of 15,15 ha and a plot of land of 10,25 ha, in Alexei Mateevici street no. 49, or. Straseni;
(b) the land with an area of 2,79 ha, located at Miron Costin Street No 2, Straseni;
(c) the land with an area of 8,5 ha, located at Alba Iulia Street., Causeni.
20 November 2015 – At the session of the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova on 20 November 2015, the Law No. 203 on supplementing Article 1 of the Law No. 26 of 4 March 2010 on the “Balti” FEZ was adopted, which provides for the extension of the Balti FEZ to the cities of Cahul and Orhei:
a) the land with an area of 23,00 hа on Crihana Veche village, Cahul;
b) the land with an area of 17,00 ha on 4 Muncii street, Cahul;
(c) the land with an area 8,00 ha site in the town of. Orhei. The decision to create the subzone in Orhei was based on the request letter of intent of Sumitomo Electric Bordnetze (SEBN).
06 February 2016 – One of the world’s leading manufacturers of cabling systems for the automotive industry, the German company DRÄXLMAIER GROUP, has started a new major investment in the Republic of Moldova. The construction of the third factory (extension of factory no. 2) with a production area of 27,000 m2 and investments of about 35 million euros started on March 1, 2016 in subzone no. 2, Balti.
On June 8, 2016 the resident of “Balti” FEZ became “Sumitomo Electric Bordnetze” Ltd. (SEBN MD). In August of the same year SEBN MD started the construction of a factory for the production of electrical wiring for cars with an area of 27 thousand m2, on the greenfield land of Orhei subzone.
15 October 2016 – On no. 5 subzone of the of. Straseni of the “Balti” FEZ was launched the wiring factory of the Italian company ,,La Triveneta Cavi Development”. For the construction and infrastructure of the factory about 24 million euro were invested and created about 400 jobs were created.
On January 19, 2017 “Coroplast Harness Technology” Ltd. became ,,Balti” FEZ resident of No.7 subzone located in Causeni, intending to invest about $20 million in the construction of a factory on the greenfield land of the subzone and create about 600 new jobs.
September 2017 – DRÄXLMAIER GROUP started production at the third factory in the Free Economic Zone “Balti”, subzone no. 2 (extension of factory no. 2). The new factory will employ about 2,500 workers. As a result of the investment, a further 6,250 indirect jobs will be created.
September 2017 – “Gebauer & Griller Cables & Wires” expands its activity in the “Balti” FEZ, building on 5 ha of the greenfield land of Balti subzone no. 3 on a new factory for the production of electric cables. The construction has started in March 2017, and already in September 2017 the equipment was installed and the process of hiring and training of the staff started. The investment of “G&G Cables&Wires” in factory no. 2 is approx. 20 million and will create approx. 600 new jobs will be created.
30 October 2017 – The Japanese-German company Sumitomo Electric Bordnetze SE (SEBN) has officially opened its production subsidiary SE Bordnetze SRL (SEBN MD) in”Balti” FEZ subzone No. 6 of Orhei. SEBN MD’s total investment is estimated to reach about $40 million and the company aims to create up to 2,500 new jobs.
6 December 2017 – The DRÄXLMAIER Group has opened a new location in Moldova – the Product Development Office in Chisinau. The opening ceremony took place at the location’s headquarters on 9/21 Studenților Street, near the campus of the Technical University of Moldova.
7 December 2017 – At the General Assembly of the Association of Employers from the Manufacturing Industry (APIP), the foundations for the creation of the first automotive cluster “Automotive Cluster Moldova” were established. Among the companies that joined the initiative are the big players in the automotive sector of the Republic of Moldova “Draexlmaier Automotive”, “G&G Cables&Wires”, “Sumitomo Electric Bordnetze”, “La Triveneta Cavi Development”, “Introscop”, “Lear Corporation”, “Elektromanufacturing”, “Coroplast” etc. FEZ “Balti”, together with the industrial parks “CAAN” and “Raut”, as state structures, constitute a separate category of the cluster, designed to coagulate and stimulate the development of the sector.
13 December 2017 – DRÄXLMAIER GROUP announces the decision to open a new production plant for electrical components and wiring harnesses in the Republic of Moldova – in the south of the country, in Cahul. The factory is be specialized in production of electrical components and wiring harnesses for automotive industry. The new factory has an area of approx. 20 thousand m2 and the investment is approx. 20 million.
26 July 2018 – The Parliament approves the enlargement of FEZ Balti, by incision of 6 new subzones: in Panasesti/Straseni (16,33 ha, subzone no. 11), Stefan Voda (8,92 ha, subzone no. 10), Cimislia (20,00 ha, subzone no. 18), Albinetul Vechi/Falesti (1,5 ha, subzone no. 9), Rezina (8,71 ha, subzone no. 14) and Chisinau, 104 Uzinelor St. (13,22 ha, subzone no. 17).
August 2018 – The Engineering College, located in subzone no. 4 in Straseni started its activity. The College was founded at the initiative of FEZ Balti Administration and it is the only VET institution in Moldova fully following the dual education system. Most dual partner companies of the College are FEZ Balti residents.
November 2019 – The prestigious fDi Intelligence magazine, part of the Financial Times group of publications, the largest centre of excellence for FDI globally, has included the “Balti” FEZ in the GLOBAL FREE ZONES OF THE YEAR ranking. According to the ranking, ZEL “Balti” received the EDITOR`S CHOICE AWARDS. ZEL “Balti” received two other awards in the annual fDi FREE ZONES OF THE YEAR 2019 rankings, the Supplier Development and Expansions categories.
March 2020 – Magnetec Components became resident of FEZ ,,Balti” subzone No.1 in Balti. Magnetec is a world-renowned company specializing in the production of inductive coils for the machine-building, renewables, electrical engineering and automotive industries. Magnetec’s customers include companies such as Siemens, Bosch, Tesla, Volkswagen, Daimler, Ford. The company plans to invest more than USD 5 million in Moldova.
July-August 2020 – Enlargement of FEZ Balti continued with the inclusion of 2 new subzones: in Pirita/Dubasari (11,02 ha, subzone no. 19) and Chisinau, 1 Sprincenoaia St. (2,24 ha, subzone no. 16).
July 2021 – HIS EAST became resident of FEZ Balti subzone no. 10 in Stefan Voda. HIS EAST is a company founded by the Swiss HIS Foundation, which belongs to the Schöni family of entrepreneurs. Schöni is a large Swiss holding company with more than 1000 employees in Switzerland, Italy and Slovakia. Schöni Food started its activities in 1920 in Switzerland, producing pickled cabbage in industrial quantities. The company is a pioneer in organic production and is constantly expanding its product range. With the launch of His East SRL in Moldova, the HIS Foundation is opening up new opportunities for agricultural producers in Moldova.
December 2021 – Bautex Composites became resident of subzone no. 5 of FEZ Balti in Straseni. The company produces fibreglass and technical fabrics, for example for reinforcing roofs, yachts, cars, windmill blades or road paving. It employs 600 people worldwide, has an annual turnover of around 50 million euros and produces more than 150 million m2 of fabric per year. In Moldova Bautex plans to invest about 20 million US$ and create abot 300 new jobs.
December 2022 – FRANK INVESTMENT became resident of FEZ Balti, subzone no. 14 in Rezina. Frank Investment is the daughter company of Tunetanken, a Danish manufacturer of tanks, industrial systems and fibreglass silos with more than 50 years of experience and 6 production plants in Denmark and Latvia. In Moldova, Frank Investment invested about 5 million lei in the purchase of a brownfield in the Rezina. Planned investments are expected to reach about USD 50 million in the expansion of the factory on an area of about 50,000 m2 and the creation of about 200 highly skilled jobs in the first stage and once the company expands the workforce is expected to reach 1000 people, of which about 80% engineers and technicians.
September 2023 – FEZ Balti Administration was approved budget financing in the amount of about 15,6 million lei for the establishment of the inter-company training center ,,TechZone”. The funds will be used for the renovation and equipment of the 2200 m2 building located in the subzone no. 16 in Chisinau, Sprincenoaia Street 1. The creation of the inter-company training centre aims to provide complementary vocational training services to employees of foreign investors, in need of qualified personnel for their operation in Moldova. It will also be a support for small and medium-sized local enterprises that cannot afford to maintain the workshops and machinery needed to train their employees.