Mykolaiv Gymnasium Restoration: Over ₴200M Allocated Amid Contractor Controversy

The restoration of Mykolaiv gymnasium No. 2, a 19th-century building, has been underway since last year. The project is funded by the state budget from the Russian Federation's Fund for Elimination of the Consequences of Armed Aggression. More than 200 million hryvnias were allocated for the restoration of the gymnasium, and the contractor received a contract for 145.5 million.

However, as the publication "Anti-Corruption Dimension" found out, there are many questions to the contractor, LLC "BC "Zhiloprombud-8". The company has been involved in corruption scandals, received fines from the Antimonopoly Committee, and had problematic contracts in the past.

The regional department of urban planning and architecture announced the tender in November 2023 under a procedure that allows a contract to be concluded even if there is only one participant. And so it was - only one company applied and was awarded the contract.

Interestingly, although the project envisages the construction of a radiation shelter, it is not mentioned in the tender documents. There is an assumption that additional funding will be allocated for this.

The company was founded by Hryhorii Sterpul, a Mykolaiv businessman with longstanding political ties. He was associated with the former local authorities, and in 2006 he ran for the city council himself. Among the founders of Zhytloprombud-8 is also Olena Avdeeva, who ran as a candidate for the Servant of the People party in 2020. In addition, the husband of Yana Khotienko, an official who currently holds a position in the department that ordered the restoration, worked for the company.

"Zhytloprombud-8 regularly wins public contracts. The company has received millions for various projects, including the reconstruction of the city's Palace of Culture and the renovation of a college. In 2019, the Antimonopoly Committee fined the company UAH 6.6 million for collusion in bidding. Despite this, the company continued to win tenders.

The company was also involved in a scandal involving the repair of Mykolaiv airport, when it started work without an official contract. It is now suing for reimbursement of UAH 28.8 million.

Despite all these facts, Zhiloprombud-8 continues to receive government contracts, and has already earned more than a billion hryvnias.

Its connections and history raise doubts about the transparency of the process and the quality of the work performed. So whether the Mykolaiv gymnasium will receive a safe and reliable renovation remains an open question.

On October 31, 1843, a women's school was founded in Mykolaiv. In 1991, Mykolaiv Gymnasium No. 2 was established on the basis of a specialized school with in-depth study of English. As a cultural monument, the gymnasium was listed in the State Register of Immovable Monuments of Ukraine in February 2024 in accordance with the Law of Ukraine "On Protection of Cultural Heritage".

On September 14, 2022, the building of the gymnasium was damaged as a result of shelling by the Russian occupiers with the S-300 missile system.

In total, more than UAH 217.1 million was allocated from the state budget for the restoration, and the funds were received from the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine as part of a subvention for the implementation of projects to eliminate the consequences of the war on June 16, 2023.

Also in January, the city selected a contractor to repair the shelter at the Polytechnic College without holding an auction. The contract worth almost UAH 23 million was awarded to Zhytloprombud-8, a company that has earned more than a billion hryvnias in public procurement and was involved in a case of misappropriation of budget funds.

Анна Бальчінос