Budget Commission agrees to allocate 20 million for uninterrupted traffic lights

Odesa City Council members of the Planning, Budget and Finance Committee have approved the allocation of more than UAH 60 million for the Department of Transport. The funds will be used to pay salaries, reconstruct the cable line and purchase equipment for traffic lights.

According to Oleksiy Potapsky, chairman of the commission, the largest part of the funds - UAH 34.6 million - is provided to ensure timely payment of salaries and benefits.

"The Department of Transport is in a difficult financial situation. We are currently allocating the amount that should be enough until the end of August and beginning of September. We plan to provide additional funding in September," said Potapsky.

Another 9.6 million hryvnias will be spent on reconstruction of the cable line, and 20 million hryvnias will be spent on backup power, controllers and 14 units of traffic light equipment.

The meeting was also attended by City Council member Volodymyr Kornienko, who inquired about the use of previously allocated funds for traffic light components. Petro Stoyanov, head of the municipal enterprise Specialized Installation and Maintenance Unit (SMU), replied that all 5.6 million hryvnias of the money had been used and the equipment was installed and working smoothly.

"Now we are asking for another 19 million to continue the work: there are emergency areas, and traffic lights are primarily about the safety of pedestrians, who are the least protected on the roads. We ask you to treat this with understanding," he added.

During a meeting of the same commission, Stoyanov explained the situation with searches at the company and accusations of purchasing traffic light equipment at inflated prices.

"This is disinformation. Moreover, this information is still being verified. Back in 2024, law enforcement officers were provided with documents. The issue somehow got stuck and we do not understand what is happening there," he said.

Last week, detectives from the Bureau of Economic Security and prosecutors searched the premises of SMEP. According to the BES, the tender was won by two companies that had nothing to do with the production of uninterruptible power supplies for traffic light facilities. In fact, the equipment was manufactured by a third company, and the tender winners were used as a gasket to artificially inflate the cost of the supply by more than five times.

Олеся Ланцман