Kherson Oblast Awards ₴500M in Controversial Road Repair Tenders

In April, tenders for major road repairs in Kherson Oblast were completed and three companies won. They won contracts worth more than UAH 500 million, and their activities have repeatedly been the subject of investigations and criminal cases.

According to the Center for Public Investigations, bidding for all tenders took place on April 16, and two proposals were received for each tender. Currently, the selected winners are waiting for the decision. Let's take a look at who won the road tenders and whether the companies are involved in corruption.

At the end of March, the Kherson Oblast Infrastructure Restoration and Development Service announced four tenders for the overhaul of the road network in the village of Posad Pokrovske, which was heavily damaged by Russian shelling. The total amount allocated for these works exceeds UAH 580 million.

For example, the contract for the repair of roads on Peremohy, Pershogo Maya, Priozerna and Sadova streets, which was allocated over UAH 146 million, was awarded to Energetichno-Road Construction. The company offered 139 million 214 thousand 999 hryvnias, which is 7.3 million below the expected cost.

According to YouControl, Energy and Road Construction was registered in 2005. The company has repeatedly become a subject of both journalistic investigations and criminal cases. By the way, this year there are 5 cases scheduled for consideration.

The company has earned more than UAH 10.5 billion in public tenders. According to media reports, the company is suspected of embezzling budget funds and has been accused of price gouging and collusion.

More than 165 million was allocated for the reconstruction of Bobrovsky, Voennaya, Gagarin, Dedukh, Ingulets and Rakovsky Feda streets, and Avtomagistral-Pivden LLC was chosen as the winner for 157 million 599 thousand 999 hryvnias. This is 8.3 million less.

Avtomagistral-Pivden LLC was registered in 2006 and is affiliated with the National Association of Road Workers of Ukraine. Its reputation in the media also leaves much to be desired. The Nashi Groshi publication suggested that the actual owner of the company could be businessman Oleksandr Zhukov, a former father-in-law of Roman Abramovich and, according to journalists, one of the most influential members of the group that controls Odesa through Mayor Hennadiy Trukhanov.

The company earned more than UAH 119 billion from procurement. According to the latest court ruling in January 2025, the company was accused of misappropriating budget funds during the reconstruction and construction of fortifications. According to the investigation, the company overstated the cost of materials and the amount of work performed in official acts, which led to embezzlement on a particularly large scale under martial law.

Avtostrada Group won two contracts. These are the overhauls of Zelena, Pokrovska, Sportyvna, Stepova, Khersonska, Tserkovna streets and Khersonskyi lane, for which more than 156 million was allocated. And also Husynska, Molodizhna, Poltavska, and Yuzhna streets for more than UAH 120 million. Accordingly, the first tender decreased by 7.8 million, and the second - by more than 6 million.

The company was registered in 2015 and is involved in 115 criminal cases. The company has earned more than UAH 101 billion in government contracts. It belongs to businessman Maksym Shkil, who is also the founder of MS Capital, which includes this company. The company's activities are also under scrutiny by the media, and it is also linked to Odesa Mayor Trukhanov. The company has also recently received 6.2 billion for the construction of a water pipeline from New Odesa.

Last year, the state paid almost 150.5 billion hryvnias to about 500 private companies. Analysts have found out which businesses received the most budget funds and which of these companies are connected to influential politicians.

Анна Літман