Journalists uncovered a scheme of overpayments for the repair of a maternity hospital in Odesa

The reconstruction of Odesa Maternity Hospital No. 5, for which UAH 175 million was allocated, attracted the attention of journalists due to possible overpricing of construction materials and equipment. Funding is provided by a loan from the European Investment Bank, and VAT is covered by the local budget.

This is stated in an investigation by the Nashi Hroshi project based on the system's data.

The journalists drew attention to a number of items in the estimate whose prices are significantly higher than market prices. In particular, galvanized steel facade cassettes were estimated at UAH 2,340 per square meter, while similar materials on the market are much cheaper. Also, mineral wool boards will cost the budget UAH 1,798 per square meter, although their real market value is unknown due to the lack of a clear description.

Other items were also found to be sharply overpriced. For example, a Uniclean PL II 10-2 EL washing and disinfecting machine was valued at UAH 7.65 million, while a similar model with a larger volume in another tender cost half as much. Fire-resistant drywall is priced at UAH 456 per square meter, although it can be purchased on the market for UAH 169 per square meter, which is 2.5 times cheaper.

Journalists also noted overpricing of heating radiators and air conditioners. Korado Radik Klasik radiators, ordered for UAH 31,891 each, cost about UAH 12,280 on the market. Hitachi air conditioners are also priced significantly higher than the market value, which can lead to an overpayment of up to UAH 10 million for the entire project.

In addition, the salaries of workers were also questioned, set at UAH 13,708, while the average salary in the construction industry in Odesa is much higher - about UAH 23,000.

Earlier, Intent wrote that the Department of Capital Construction of the Odesa City Council announced a second tender and selected a contractor for the reconstruction of the Maternity Hospital No. 5 at 28 Marshal Govorova Street. Inzh-Stroy LLC was awarded the 175 million contract without an auction. The company is owned and operated by Bronislav Tsurkan from Odesa .

This was the third attempt to conduct the procurement. In July, the department re-announced the tender because the previous one had to be canceled.

The fact is that analysts from the Bureau of Economic Security found that the contractor had overstated its financial statements in order to participate in the tender procedure. The purpose of such actions, according to analysts, was to artificially increase the company's financial capacity, as this is one of the qualification criteria provided for in the procurement requirements. The company also had no material and technical base and an insufficient number of employees with the appropriate qualifications, which indicates that it was unable to perform construction work on its own.

In addition, the company was registered in the territory not controlled by Ukraine.

The company in question was Donstroy Limited Liability Company, which won the tender. The company's offer was eventually rejected officially because it did not have time to eliminate inconsistencies in the documents.

But even before that, the department was trying to conduct this procurement. Thus, on May 22 , a tender was to be held with an expected purchase price of UAH 147 million 189.7 thousand. However, the procurement was canceled due to the inability to eliminate the identified violations of public procurement legislation.

Ірина Глухова