Following a mistake by officials, Odessa is once again looking for a contractor to build a drinking fountain

In Odesa, a tender for the construction of a new drinking fountain complex in the park near Building No. 29 on Vladislav Buvalkin Street was announced on the second attempt and at a new price. The first tender was canceled due to an error by officials.

This was reported on the Prozorro public procurement platform.

 The client for the project is the Department of Ecology and Recreation Area Development of the Odesa City Council. The estimated construction cost, excluding VAT, is 14.83 million hryvnias.

According to the technical specifications, the project involves the construction of a full-scale drinking fountain complex, including the drilling of an artesian well. Specifically, the plans include:

• constructing a technical building with a foundation, walls, roof, and interior finishes;
• installing a pumping station;
• drilling and reinforcing the well;
• installing a water treatment system with filters, reverse osmosis, ozonation, and storage tanks for treated water.

The project also includes the installation of water supply, sewer, ventilation, heating, air conditioning, electrical, lighting, and fire alarm systems, as well as equipment for automating the complex’s operations.

Funding will come from the local budget, and construction is scheduled to be completed by September 2027.

The first tender, valued at 17.8 million hryvnias, was announced on July 14, but the bidding was canceled on July 22 due to an error by officials, even though the submission period was supposed to last until July 29.

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Tender for the construction of a new drinking fountain complex at 29 Vladyslav Buvalkin Street. Photo: screenshot from Prozorro

The cancellation protocol noted that the contracting authority violated legal requirements regarding the publication of the announcement. Following the entry into force on July 1, 2026, of the new version of Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 1178, the estimated cost of the procurement must be stated excluding VAT—yet the announcement was drafted in violation of the new rules.

It was impossible to correct the error, as changing the estimated value is considered a change to the essential terms of the procurement. Therefore, the tender had to be canceled entirely.

Ірина Глухова