Firm of Odesa MP's brother has one day left to eliminate discrepancies in 11-million tender

The Odesa City Heat Supply utility company has selected the winner of a tender to select a contractor to overhaul the building of the Severna-2 district boiler house, which suffered from bad weather last year.

The relevant information is available in the Prozorro electronic procurement system, according to the Center for Public Investigations.

However, the company has until October 15 to eliminate inconsistencies in the tender documentation, otherwise its proposal may be rejected. The company in question is AKANT RBC Limited Liability Company, one of the founders and owners of which is Eduard Schumacher, the brother of Odesa City Council member Yuriy Schumacher.

However, according to the YouControl service, he is not the ultimate beneficial owner of this company. Natalia Ryapich is listed as such.

The auction took place on October 7 in the format of open bidding with peculiarities, and the competitor of AKANT Restoration and Construction Company LLC was Stikon Limited Liability Company. At the second stage of the auction, AKANT RBC LLC reduced the expected fee for its services from UAH 11 million 140.9 thousand to UAH 11 million 26 thousand, which was UAH 56.9 thousand cheaper than the competitor's offer.

AKANT RBC LLC was registered in 2019.

The winner has to restore the supporting structures, strengthen the foundation, install columns and beams, and restore the roof. The project also includes replacing old lighting equipment with new LED lamps and floodlights. The contractor must complete all work by the end of December 2024.

This is the second attempt to select a contractor this fall. The previous tender was announced on September 3, and on September 19, the procurement was conducted with one participant, KBK Fortis Limited Liability Company. However, on September 20, the results of the procurement were canceled, justified by a letter that the municipal enterprise received from KBK Fortis LLC, in which the company refused to perform work under the specified procurement procedure.

In August, Odesa began reconstructing the pipe of the Severnaya-2 boiler house, which collapsed during a strong wind last year. According to Mayor Gennadiy Trukhanov, UNICEF provided UAH 60 million in funding for the repairs. Currently, the foundation is being arranged and a new pipe structure is being manufactured. The repairs are scheduled to be completed by November 1, 2024.

The Severnaya-2 boiler house provides heat to 120,000 Odessans and serves 10 kindergartens, nine schools and six medical institutions, the mayor emphasized. An expert opinion was provided by the Odesa State Academy of Civil Engineering and Architecture based on the results of the inspection and assessment of the technical condition of the structures.

It should be added that the pipe was built in 1989 and the last major overhaul took place in 2014. In 2020, the facility underwent a scheduled inspection and no defects were found.

Кирило Бойко