OREANDA-NEWS. April 10, 2012. Prime Minister Vlad Filat and Ambassador William Moser today made a bicycle ride on a road segment of the Sarateni-Soroca highway, due to be restored within the "Compact" Programme, the government's communications and press relations department has said.

The prime minister and the ambassador were accompanied by several bicyclists, among whom Government's Secretary-General Victor Bodiu, employees of the State Chancellery, of the Millennium Challenge Fund and of the US Embassy in Chisinau. Participating in the bike ride were also several children and representatives of the diplomatic corps.

The participants in the ride crossed Sarateni, Tintareni and Negureni villages, making a stopover in each of them, in order to attend the presentation of the roads' rehabilitation projects on the spot. The Sarateni-Soroca highway, which covers 93 kilometers, will be fully rehabilitated. Moreover, the road systems, the bus stations, the pedestrian crossings are to be modernized as well. At the same time, the local roads facilitating the access from the restored highway to the social-purpose institutions, are also to be repaired.

The Sarateni-Soroca road segment is an integrant part of the M2 national highway, which links Moldova and Ukraine. This road segment is used by about 300,000 people from over 70 villages. At present, the Sarateni-Soroca highway is in a very bad condition, with over 60 per cent of the road requiring a general overhaul.

At the end of the ride, Ambassador William Moser said that the initiative was meant to show the current situation on the national highway, which needs to be restored.

"The participation of Prime Minister Vlad Filat in this event is a proof of the good cooperation between the US and the Moldovan governments. The rehabilitation of this road segment will bring about benefits to the residents of this region," the US envoy said.

For his part, Filat thanked the organizers for the idea to make a bicycle ride on the highway which needs to be restored. The prime minister vowed to repeat the same experience when the rehabilitation of the highway is completed.

"This project, which will be a success, for sure, will serve as an example for many other roads' rehabilitation projects due to be implemented in Moldova," the prime minister said.

Filat thanked the US Government, as well as the entire American people for the sincere and unconditioned help which the USA has been constantly providing to Moldova.

At the end of the event, Filat gave his bicycle to a boy from the village of Negureni, urging him to go for sports and to regularly attend classes at school.

The rehabilitation works of the 93-kilometer road segment will last until late 2014. The project is estimated at 130 million euros, envisaged for construction works, feasibility studies, as well as other related activities.