Inauguration of the Integrated Dispatch Center for emergency situations in the municipality of Balti (PHOTO/VIDEO IGSU)

Today, December 28, 2023, the General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (M.A.I.) of the Republic of Moldova in partnership with the Inspectorate for Emergency Situations of Iași County, Romania inaugurated the Integrated Dispatch Center for emergency situations in the municipality of Bălți.

The Dispatch Center was built within the project “Efficient joint response in cross-border emergency situations”, 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, the representatives of the Romanian Embassy in the Republic of Moldova, the leaders of the local public administration in the north of the country, as well as the management of the General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations (I.G.S.U.), represented by the head of the institution , colonel Alexandru Oprea.

In his speech, colonel Alexandru Oprea mentioned that the idea of creating integrated Dispatches appeared 5 years ago between two partners, General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations from the Republic of Moldova and Inspectorate for Emergency Situations of Iași County, Romania. The head of the Inspectorate emphasized that the opening of the Dispatch is the second major investment for the municipality of Bălți, thanks to EU funding, but also the contribution of the Government of the Republic of Moldova. The official also thanked all external and internal partners for their involvement, as well as the entire team that managed the running of the program.

The Prime Minister, Dorin Recean, congratulated the team involved in achieving the goal in order to create an improved and efficient system for reacting in emergency situations, for the life and safety of citizens. At the same time, the official emphasized the importance of the cooperation of all the services responsible for managing crisis situations with the local public authorities, but also with the entities that will benefit from the newly improved service.

The Minister of Internal Affairs, Mr. Adrian Efros, sincerely thanked the external partners and employees of the M.A.I. subdivisions for the effort put into building the dispatch center in record time, in which the police, firefighters and doctors will be on duty to act promptly and in an unprecedented manner in exceptional situations , ensuring the reduction of response time in favor of citizens.

According to the official, the inauguration of the integrated Dispatch Center, equipped according to European standards, proves once again that the Republic of Moldova is a reliable partner for the EU.

The Balti Emergency Dispatch Center is responsible for managing emergency situations and will serve about 1 million inhabitants from 11 districts located in the northern part of the Republic of Moldova, as well as Balti municipality.

The infrastructure of the Emergency Management Center is equipped with dedicated spaces for hosting emergency services dispatchers. Here, the firemen and rescuers, the police and the medical service will work together. The premises have modern installations, access control systems, heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems, furniture and all other auxiliary spaces and appliances.

The dispatch center is equipped with the necessary I.C.T. equipment to carry out its routine and emergency management activities, as well as to jointly coordinate cross-border response operations.

The integrated dispatch center in the north of the country has the same infrastructure as the counterpart dispatch center in Iași county, Romania, both being built according to identical standards within the implemented project. Also, in the project implementation process, communication and coordination procedures of the two dispatch centers for emergency situations were established.

By carrying out this project, the quality and efficiency of the services provided to the public by both beneficiaries will be increased and the process of operational information exchange between the services responsible for managing emergency situations will be improved. Moreover, the program will strengthen the vital relationship between the Republic of Moldova and Romania, which will cooperate for the good, safety and security of the citizens of both countries.

The final goal of the project consists in the development of the ICT infrastructure by building and equipping the Dispatch Centers for Emergency Situations in the city of Balti – Republic of Moldova and the city of Iași – Romania, as well as improving the flow of communication between the structures that act in exceptional situations.

The project was financed by the European Union through the Joint Operational Program Romania – Republic of Moldova 2014 – 2020, being estimated at 2.6 million euros.