Odesa authorities have once again allocated millions of hryvnias to inspect the Khadzhybey Estuary dam, which is in need of repair not for the first time. Despite numerous inspections and works, the problem of its safety remains unresolved.
This is evidenced by data from the Prozorro procurement system.
The Department of Engineering Protection of the City Territory and Coastal Development of the Odesa City Council has announced a tender for a comprehensive inspection of the technical condition of the Khadzhibey Estuary dam with subsequent certification of the structure. The expected value of the procurement is UAH 3.81 million.
According to the announcement in the Prozorro system, the service is scheduled to be provided by December 15, 2025. The procurement is to take place in the format of an open tender with special conditions, and the auction is scheduled for August 19. Tenderers will be able to submit their proposals until August 18.
Screenshot: Prozorro
The bidders are offered to reduce their price offers in increments of UAH 19,050, which is 0.5% of the total purchase amount. Payments will be made upon completion of the service within 10 banking days after signing the relevant acts.
This is not the first time that the dam has been inspected and repaired. In 2021, UAH 1 million 443 thousand was allocated from the Odesa city budget for the inspection of the Khadzhibey estuary dam. The relevant tender was ordered by the Capital Construction Department of the Odesa City Council.
In December of the same year, the same department conducted another procurement to carry out priority work on overhauling and stabilizing the dam's emergency sections. The winner of the tender was a company associated with the local political elite. Its ultimate beneficiaries are City Council member Yuriy Shumacher, a representative of the Trust the Deeds party, and businessman Yevhen Konovalov. In addition, the company has close ties to the political force of the current mayor , Hennadii Trukhanov.
In March 2023, two drainage pumping stations were to be repaired at the dam. UAH 7.2 million was allocated for this work from the city's environmental protection program for 2022-2027. The goal was to prevent natural or man-made emergencies in the event of a dam break.
In July 2024, the Supreme Court upheld the prosecutor's claim and ordered the Odesa City Council to take steps to officially register the Khadzhybey Estuary dam.
And in August, amid the stench that lasted for more than a week in Odesa, journalists from the Center for Public Investigations analyzed the history of the construction of the Deep Water Outlet sewer, which cost more than UAH 300 million. They came to the conclusion that this amount should be added to the budget funds that have been spent for years on repairing the dam of the Khadzhybey estuary.
Анна Бальчінос