Mykolaiv Awards ₴28.9 Million Repair Contract Amid Bid Rigging Probe

Mykolaiv awarded a contract for the repair of a shelter to a company suspected of bid rigging. The contract is worth almost UAH 30 million.

This was reported by Anti-Corruption Dimension with reference to the Prozorro public procurement system.

In February, the Mykolaiv Regional State Administration signed a contract with the private enterprise Demsei for the overhaul of the shelter at the Novodesskiy Vocational College for UAH 28.9 million. At the same time, this company is being investigated by the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine (AMCU) for possible collusion in other tenders.

The repair procurement was announced in January 2025. The expected cost of the work was UAH 32.2 million. Two companies took part in the tender:

• Bukovina Elitbud offered to perform the work for UAH 28.5 million;
• Demsey PE - submitted a more expensive offer of UAH 28.9 million.

Screenshot: Prozorro

Despite the lower price, the proposal of Bukovina Elitbud was rejected. The official reason was the lack of information about the firm contract price in the documents. As a result, the only eligible bidder was Demsei PE, with which the contract was signed in February.

The firm has repeatedly participated in government tenders, including for building repairs. According to the contract, the company is to overhaul a shelter at the college in Nova Odesa, Mykolaiv district. The works are to be completed by December 31, 2026.

The contract has already been signed, and the company will receive UAH 28.9 million from the budget for the work.

Recently, Pivdenoukrainsk discovered collusion in the bidding process for the repair of Druzhby Narodiv Street, which has been underway for three years. In June 2023, the Construction and Repair Department announced a tender in which two companies, Demsey and Spectrum Skil, participated. The offer of the latter was only 9 thousand hryvnias cheaper, which attracted the attention of the Antimonopoly Committee.

The contract for the renovation of the Mykolaiv Institute of the National Academy of Sciences was also awarded to a company whose director has political connections. The tender was announced three times: two were held last year, and an agreement was even signed for the repairs, which were to be completed by the end of the year. According to information, the company has ties to the deputy head of the Mykolaiv Regional Military Administration, Heorhiy Reshetylov.

Анна Бальчінос