Photo: UNDP Moldova

The Border Crossing Point from Palanca, built from foundation with European Union’s support, will have also a new access road towards Odessa – Reni highway. The road started being built in August and will have a length of 250 meters, three circulation lanes, a speed lane, a deceleration lane, and will be lighted during the nighttime. The works are being carried out in parallel with the construction works of the Border Crossing Point. The Government of the Republic of Moldova has allocated 630,000 Euro for this segment of road.

The control procedure in the new Border Crossing Point in Palanca, which will be launched into operation by the end of the current year, will be performed just once, on the territory of our country, by the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine border police and customs officers. At the moment, a team of 80 workers is working at the construction site and almost 50% of all works were already carried out.

The project envisages the construction of an administrative building with over 30 offices for the employees of the Border Police and Customs Service from the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine, which will also have specially equipped premises for checking the vehicles and trucks. The premises will be endowed with modern equipment for performing border control, computers, scanners.

The building is designed to meet the needs of all the travelers, including those of persons with disabilities, for whom access ramps and adjusted sanitary blocks will be built. At the same time, special premises were envisaged for asylum seekers. The Border Crossing Point will have a pedestrian control point, built for the first time in Palanca for the persons crossing the border on foot or by bicycles.

It is estimated that the new Border Crossing Point will streamline to maximum the traffic though the respective border zone. Hence, if until currently, about 600 thousand persons were crossing the border annually through Palanca, thanks to the new construction, the respective number will double. The number of vehicles crossing the border through the respective point will increase at least two times. Due to the single joint control performed by the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine, the corruption risks and border criminality level will downturn.

At the moment, the Border Crossing Point in Palanca is located in an old building and the infrastructure does not cope anymore with the big number of passengers and vehicles crossing the border.

During the constructions works, a temporary Border Crossing Point functions in Palanca, which ensures all the control procedures, and it is already operated jointly by the partner services from Moldova and Ukraine.

The Border Crossing Point in Palanca and the road towards Odessa-Reni highway will be launched into operation until the end of the current year. The Project is implemented by United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and has a budget of 6.18 million Euro, of which 4.5 million Euro are provided by the European Union and 1.68 million Euro – by the Government of the Republic of Moldova.