Industrial parks are one of the driving forces behind Moldova’s economic development. These are platforms that act as a catalyst: they bring together dynamic companies that produce high added value and offer the chance to create an ecosystem that can generate prosperity. Aurelia Salicov is the general manager of the largest industrial park in Moldova. Tracom Industrial Park is owned by Moldovan Government and is located right in the heart of Chișinău. With an area of 32 hectares, Tracom Industrial Park is the ideal place for a brownfield investment. This industrial park is also an example of the successful conversion of an industrial space that ceased its urban function as a tractor factory and has been reinvented as an industrial hub. Now Tracom Industrial Park is facing a new challenge: the transition to technology park status. There is also the possibility of extending this park to urban and peri-urban sites that can be regenerated and reconverted into technological and industrial hubs, following the successful models offered by the Krakow Technology Park or the Tetarom Industrial and Technology Parks in Cluj.
Aurelia Salicov has to manage this transition while transforming the Tracom Industrial Park into an entity organised along Western lines. This implies a dual transformation: towards a green, non-polluting technology park, increasingly based on digitalisation. This is necessary because, in the context of negotiations for Moldova’s accession to the European Union, major economic players must also take on board the Union’s environmental policy and climate neutrality objectives.
In practical terms, this process means increasing the focus on clean energy and moving polluting industries from the heart of Chisinau to more suitable industrial sites. Aurelia Salicov must successfully manage these challenges. Not only because she is the general manager of Moldova’s largest industrial park, but also as president of the Association of Industrial Parks of Moldova. The Association includes ten industrial parks, and the structural modernisation of the Tracom Industrial Park, a process which has already begun, is a source of inspiration for the other industrial parks between the Prut and the Dniester (Nistru).
The Tracom Industrial Park upgrade is taking place under extreme conditions. It began in the context of the pandemic crisis, which has severely disrupted supply chains by interrupting or suspending the flow of people, goods and capital. Then came the crisis caused by the war in Ukraine, with the uncertainties brought by the Russian invasion and the influx of Ukrainian refugees. The third crisis that has had to be faced is the energy crisis. Virtually all of these crises have been successfully managed and the management decisions of the Tracom Industrial Park have shown that it has become a resilient economic entity, able to cope successfully with successive shocks caused by the international context.
In all this, there have also been positive elements. On the one hand, the granting of candidate country status for accession to the European Union has brought Moldova huge sympathy from Western countries. It is also helping to strengthen the interest of international companies in Moldova. There is also the prospect of European-funded projects to help develop industrial parks in Moldova, as well as support coming from North Atlantic partners through projects such as Future Technologies, inspired by the United States, says Aurelia Salicov.
“We have always wanted to draw inspiration from working models. We are grateful to our partners at the Technology Park in Malaga, Spain, for their help. I also thank our friends at the Tetarom Industrial Park in Cluj, Romania, who have always been there for us,” says Aurelia Salicov. “We have also signed a cooperation agreement with the association of industrial and technological parks in Romania, and this agreement will be very useful in the process of upgrading industrial parks in Moldova”, says Aurelia Salicov.
She also said that the support of the Romanian Royal Family for economic initiatives in the Republic of Moldova is extremely useful. “In February 2023, the Chișinău Economic Forum was founded at the initiative of His Royal Highness Prince Radu of Romania. 250 entrepreneurs and public figures from Moldova, Romania, Poland, Germany, USA and Israel met on the Tracom platform to discuss business opportunities at an extremely difficult time. Already, several investments have materialised as a result of the forum. It’s a useful initiative that needs to be continued”, says Aurelia Salicov. She is convinced that such initiatives will boost Moldova’s economic development and create well-paid jobs.
