Billions on the roads and tetrapods in the water: A lawmaker’s company was selected as the winner of a tender in the Odesa region

A company owned by a member of the Odesa Regional Council may win a tender for road repairs worth nearly 390 million. The company has already been awarded road construction contracts worth billions and has been mentioned in investigations into flooded fortifications and illegal coastal development.

The Center for Public Investigations uncovered details of the tender and the company’s history.

The Infrastructure Restoration and Development Service in Odesa Oblast announced a tender for routine medium-scale repairs to certain sections of the T-16-22 Kodima–Slobidka–Podilsk road. The estimated cost of the project was over 389 million. The work is to be completed by the end of 2027, and funding is provided from the state budget, specifically as part of an EU program.

Only Berezivkaagroshlyakhbud LLC submitted a bid. The company’s bid was just over 4,000 hryvnias less than the estimated cost. This is not the company’s first major road contract this month. In August, the company had already secured four contracts to repair sections of the Odesa–Ivanivka–Ananiv–Pishchana–Khashchuvate–Kolodyste–Ryzhavka road, worth over 339 million hryvnias. The company is set to receive another 238 million hryvnias for repairs to certain sections of the R-75 highway, while repairs to seven kilometers of the Vyhoda–Paliivka highway will cost 107.4 million hryvnias.

According to YouControl, the company was registered in 2003, and its owners are Knyaz Khachatryan, a member of the Odesa Regional Council, and his brother Robert. In total, since 2016, the company has received government contracts worth more than 8 billion hryvnias.

“Berezivkaagroshlyakhbud” LLC was also mentioned in a Center for Public Research (CPR) investigation into the construction of fortifications along the Odesa region’s coastline. Specifically, the investigation concerned the installation of tetrapods, some of which ended up in the water in the fall of 2024. According to the investigation, contracts for the installation of these structures were awarded to companies linked to Khachatryan. The CPR reached out to the company for comment but received no response.

The company was also mentioned in court documents regarding unauthorized construction near the Tiligul Estuary. In December 2023, a court authorized the seizure of documents confiscated during a search of the company’s premises. Investigators were examining construction in the coastal protection zone near the former “Chaika” health resort. 

Анна Бальчінос