Contractor lost hundreds of millions on reconstruction of frontline village in Kherson region

A contractor lost hundreds of millions in tenders to rebuild the roads of a frontline village in Kherson Oblast. The company's proposals were rejected due to errors in the documents.

This was reported by the founder of the Nashi Hroshi project, Yuriy Nikolov.

UAH 1.5 billion has already been allocated for the reconstruction of the village of Posad Pokrovske in Kherson region, just 40 kilometers from the frontline. After almost a billion for the construction of houses for 3-4 million each, the state has added another half a billion for the construction of street roads.

According to Nikolov, it is irrational to invest such sums in civilian infrastructure in the risk zone while the war is ongoing. Especially against the backdrop of reduced military aid to Ukraine. He compared the situation to the pre-war priorities of the government: instead of investing in defense, they spent money on domestic purposes that could be destroyed by Russian shelling.

But the tenders themselves were not without their problems. The favorites of the infrastructure market competed for a four-lot road contract. Avtostrada, a company associated with businessman Maksym Shkil, won all four and offered the lowest price in two.

We are talking about two tenders for street repairs in Posad Pokrovsky, which were initially won by Avtostrada Group. The first contract - for the repair of Zelena, Pokrovska, Sportyvna, Stepova, Khersonska, Tserkvova streets and Khersonskyi lane - is worth more than UAH 156 million. The second tender covered Husynska, Molodizhna, Poltavska, and Yuzhna streets, which cost over UAH 120 million more.

As a result of the bidding, the amounts decreased slightly: the first tender decreased by UAH 7.8 million, and the second by more than UAH 6 million.

However, the State Recovery Agency found problems in the company's documents and gave it 24 hours to correct them. "Avtostrada managed to update almost everything, but re-submitted the same document with a mistake - a bank guarantee. As a result, the company was rejected. Currently, the winner is European Road Construction Company, which also has a mixed reputation.

Yuriy Nikolov noted that after the publication of an investigation by Nashi Hroshi about the threefold overpricing of sand for building houses, all contractors simultaneously lowered their bids in the road tender. The largest reduction was made by Avtomagistral-Pivden, which cut 67% of the starting price.

"Avtostrada Group was founded in 2015 and is involved in 115 criminal proceedings. During its participation in public procurement, it has received contracts worth more than UAH 101 billion. It is owned by businessman Maksym Shkil, the founder of MS Capital holding, which includes this company. Its activities are actively covered in the media, and the name of Odesa Mayor Gennadiy Trukhanov appears among its unofficial connections. Recently, the company also received UAH 6.2 billion to build a water pipeline from Nova Odesa to Mykolaiv region.

Last year, the state transferred almost 150.5 billion hryvnias to nearly 500 private commercial companies. Analysts have found out which of them received the most money and which have ties to influential political figures.

Анна Бальчінос