In Mykolaiv, inflated prices were found on a contract for the construction of a heating network

In Mykolaiv, a contract was signed for the construction of a heating network at inflated prices. The purchase price is almost five hundred million hryvnias.

This was reported by the online publication Nashi Hroshi.

On October 4,Mykolaivoblteploenergo utility company signed an agreement with Avtostrada Group of Companies LLC for the construction of an underground heating network worth UAH 487.38 million. Information about this was published in the Prozorro system. The construction was awarded to the company without competition due to the specific requirements of the tender, which were challenged but not changed.

The works are to be completed by the end of 2024. Hydraulic testing is to be completed by November 2024.

The project includes the use of pre-insulated pipes, relocation of the network from the road to the green zone and installation of new shut-off valves. The technical supervision of the construction will be carried out by Mykolaiv Capital Construction, with a cost of UAH 2.20 million, which is significantly less than the initial amount of UAH 6.91 million.

The largest part of the budget, UAH 181.53 million, will be spent on the purchase of steel pipes with a diameter of 530 mm, an insulating sheath and an alarm system. The cost of the pipes is UAH 28,700 per meter, although similar pipes without insulation are much cheaper - UAH 5,319-7,739 per meter.

The price of sand with delivery reaches UAH 1,748 per cubic meter, although local monitoring shows that sand without delivery costs UAH 312 per cubic meter. Crushed stone and sand mixture C5 was purchased at UAH 1,440 per cubic meter, while the market price is UAH 752.

Concrete of B15 class (M200) was priced at UAH 4,120 per cubic meter. Recently, the administration of Mykolaiv's Ingul district purchased the same concrete for sidewalk repairs for UAH 3,108 per cubic meter, which is 25% cheaper.

The construction contract was won by Avtostrada without competition, as there were no other bidders. The terms of the tender were to provide a similar contract. Additionally, the participating companies had to confirm their income for 2023, which is at least 99% of the expected purchase price, i.e. UAH 507.90 million. The Energi Bud consortium appealed these requirements to the AMCU, but their complaint was not satisfied, as the Law on Public Procurement allows for the requirement of income confirmation in this amount.

Since 2016, Mykola Logvinov has been in charge of Mykolaivoblteploenergo, and Valeria Shevchenko is responsible for public procurement. According to Youcontrol, in 2023, Logvinov bought a Toyota Land Cruiser Prado for UAH 1.7 million, which is approximately equal to $43 thousand. His wife, Diana Kasabian, is the owner of Agro Land Gold.

Avtostrada, owned by Vinnytsia businessman Maksym Shkil, is part of the MS Capital holding, which includes five large enterprises. Before the invasion, the company was a favorite of the Big Construction program, and now it wins tenders for the construction of bridges, water pipelines, the Kyiv metro, and energy infrastructure.

Since 2017, the company has won tenders worth UAH 144 billion.

This is not the first case of overpriced procurement in Mykolaiv region. Earlier, a twelve-million-dollar tender for road repairs was awarded to a company owned by a member of parliament that has been repeatedly featured in journalistic investigations. The company has repeatedly been the subject of journalistic investigations. Two such investigations are listed in the YouControl system, including one by Intent.

Civil society organizations also found political connections and inflated prices for construction materials in the tender for the reconstruction of the Mykolaiv lyceum. The amount of overpricing reached one and a half million hryvnias.

In June, Novomariivka village council in Mykolaiv region held an open tender for the supply of coal. The contract was awarded to the company that offered the highest price.

Earlier this year, ProZorro published reports on contracts for the construction of fortifications worth more than UAH 26 billion. Mykolaiv region is one of the regions where procurement amounts are significantly overstated.

Анна Бальчінос