Contract for shelter for students of Mykolaiv college awarded to billionaire company

In Mykolaiv, a contractor was selected without an auction to repair a shelter for students of a polytechnic vocational college. The contract for almost 23 million was awarded to a company that earned more than a billion hryvnias in public procurement and was involved in a case of misappropriation of budget funds.

This was reported by the Center for Public Investigations with reference to the Prozorro public procurement system.

It is planned to overhaul the civil defense facility of the Mykolaiv Polytechnic Vocational College - storage facility No. 52498 at 11-A Nikolska Street.

The tender was announced by the Department of Urban Development and Architecture of Mykolaiv Regional State Administration. Only one bidder submitted its offer - LLC BC Zhiloprombud-8 for UAH 22.8 million.

Screenshot: Prozorro

Earlier, the contracting authority received a question about the formation of the contract price. It was about reducing the offer by more than 2%, in which case the contract price should be fixed. Thus, the expected value of the procurement based on the proposal of the sole tenderer decreased by UAH 468 thousand 777, i.e. by two percent.

Under the terms of the tender, the contractor is obliged to submit twice a month to the customer certificates of completion and is responsible for the accuracy of the information provided in accordance with applicable law. The repair work is to be completed by August 31, 2025.

According to YouControl , LLC "BC "Zhiloprombud-8" is owned by director Hryhoriy Sterpul, Oleksandr Sterpul, Olena Avdeeva, Mykola Pokhilyuk and Maria Masharova. The company with an authorized capital of UAH 108,638 was registered with the tax authorities back in 1993.

Screenshot: YouControl

To date, the company has earned more than a billion hryvnias in public tenders. It is also involved in 14 criminal cases and 5 journalistic investigations.

According to a ruling of the Novobuzkyi District Court of Mykolaiv Oblast, the company was also involved in a case of misappropriation of budget funds during the reconstruction of a pumping station and pressure collector of a kindergarten and secondary school No. 1 in Kazanka village, Bashtanka district.

Earlier, the company was awarded a contract without competition for the reconstruction of Mykolaiv Gymnasium No. 2. An agreement for major repairs and restoration was signed for more than UAH 145 million. The company was awarded the contract without competition because no one else came to the open bidding. The contract was amended in April 2024.

Zhiloprombud-8 also became the second largest contractor in Mykolaiv region with contracts worth UAH 194 million. The Antimonopoly Committee fined the company back in 2019 for tender collusion, but the company is still appealing the decision in courts.

Анна Бальчінос