In Odesa, twice inflated prices were found for the restoration of a house

In Odesa, more than 44 million hryvnias were allocated for the restoration of a residential building on Shevchenko Avenue without competition. Some of the materials in the estimate were included at prices higher than market prices.

This was reported by Nashi Hroshi.

On December 30, 2025, the Department of Municipal Economy of the Odesa City Council signed a contract with Stroy-Invest-Group-7 LLC for the restoration of an apartment building for UAH 44.66 million, excluding VAT.

The building in question is located at 8-B Shevchenko Avenue, where work has been underway since December 2024. The same contractor was already awarded the contract and managed to spend UAH 15.89 million.

According to the new agreement, by March 2027, the walls, partitions and ceilings are to be strengthened, the roof is to be repaired, facade work is to be done, the pavement, entrance and ramp are to be arranged, electrical and plumbing work is to be carried out, and the sewerage system is to be laid. Funding will come from the city budget.

At the same time, the estimate revealed items with higher prices than on the market. In particular, Ceresit CT 64 decorative plaster was included at UAH 189 per kilogram, while it can be found on the open market for between UAH 65 and 93 per kilogram. Gama 100 meters were priced at UAH 8,402 per piece, although they cost about UAH 3,240 in specialized stores. The Ceresit CT 190 mixture for mineral wool was included at UAH 35 per kilogram, while the market price is about UAH 20. Ceresit CT 42 paint was priced at UAH 362 per kilogram, while it costs about UAH 269 at retail.

According to analysts, the potential overpayment on these items alone could reach about UAH 2 million.

The average monthly salary of a worker was estimated at UAH 20,329. For comparison, according to the Pension Fund, the average salary for pension calculation is UAH 20,653, and the average offer in the construction sector in Odesa on personnel portals is about UAH 30,000. If the actual salary is higher than stated in the documents, the difference can be compensated for by the margin included in the cost of materials.

The company was awarded the contract without competition - no one else applied for the open tender. The conditions required at least three similar contracts and an annual income for 2024 of at least 47% of the expected purchase price.

Sky Capital Group PE, owned by Odesa residents Hanna Braitsara and Mykyta Makarenko, the son of the former head of the regional training and methodological center for civil protection, was selected as the subcontractor for fire protection of wooden structures.

The Department of Municipal Economy is headed by Leonid Hrebenyuk. The owner of Stroy-Invest-Group-7 is Dmytro Romaniuk. Since 2018, the company has received state orders worth 211.73 million hryvnias, most of them from the current customer.

In February, three defendants in the case of fraud in road repairs were released from criminal liability in Odesa region. The scheme involved forgery of documents and tax evasion during tenders for road repairs and maintenance in three regions.

Анна Бальчінос