OREANDA-NEWS. January 15, 2007. The Wine City joint stock company, attached to the Moldova-vin agency, announced the acceptance of documents for the participation in the third tender on the sale of land plots near the Codru settlement in the outskirts of Chisinau, reported the press-centre of Wine City joint stock company.

According to the Wine City administration, the tender will take place on February 14 in the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry. The deadline for submitting applications is February 13.

Twenty-nine land plots, covering from 0,0787 hectares to 0,2664 hectares, are offered for sale. Their initial prices waver from 733 thousand to 2,1 million lei. The prices are determined by the experts of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Local economic entities dealing with winemaking, tourism, public catering, entertainment and trade industry, are eligible.

The Wine City administration succeeded in having sold only ten land plots in the course of the first two tenders. Experts explain this with the deterioration of the financial situation of Moldovan winemaking enterprises because of Russia’s embargo on Moldovan wines, introduced in March 2006 and lifted in November 2007.

The initiative to build a Wine City was put forward as far back as in 2005. That time about 15 hectares of land, belonging to the National Institute of Vine and Wine were allocated for the construction of the Wine City, a contest on selecting an architect and construction plan was conducted and it was planned to put the city into operation by the Wine Feast 2006.

It is envisaged that it will not only be an exhibition, business and entertainment center, but it must become a strategic center for attracting tourists, as it is included into the National Tourism Development Program.

It was decided to build a grape-winemaking center on the basis of Architect Victor Vieru’s project. The construction cost is estimated at USD30 million, which are planned to be raised from the sale of land plots in the city. It is envisaged to build about 30 winemaking estates, as well as restaurants, souvenir shops and hotels there. It is expected that the Wine City will bring USD9-12 million of profits yearly.

At the beginning of 2007 Moldovan President Vladimir Voronin expressed his discontent with the delay in the construction of the city and demanded to open the Wine City by the Wine Feast in October 2008.