Shelters for kindergartens in Mykolaiv region have risen in price by millions

The construction of two kindergarten shelters in Mykolaiv region may cost millions of extra hryvnias due to inflated prices for materials. The winners of the tenders were companies that included possible overpayments of up to 22% of the project cost in their estimates.

This was reported by Nikcenter.

The Shevchenkivska village council in Mykolaiv region ordered the construction of two shelters for kindergartens, but the tenders were questioned due to inflated prices. Officials limited the possibility of reducing the cost of bids to only 2%, resulting in the winners being companies that had overpaid by millions of hryvnias.

According to Prozorro, the construction of two modular shelters will cost the community more than UAH 13 million, of which about three million may be overpayments for materials. The 72-square-meter shelter for the Zhuravlyk kindergarten in Shevchenkove is being built by Yur Project Bud LLC for almost 6 million hryvnias, and the Barvinok kindergarten in Kotliareve is being built by Antares-Bud for more than 7.2 million.

The main overestimates were in the cost of steel, concrete and sand. For example, the contractors estimated rebar at 50-60 thousand hryvnias per ton, while market prices are 33-35 thousand. The situation is similar with concrete and sand, which were included in the estimates for kindergartens at several times the market price. The potential overpayment reaches 22% of the total cost of the projects.

Formally, the bidding was open, but the conditions made it uncompetitive. Antares-Bud and Yur Project Bud's proposals appeared almost immediately after the announcement of the procurement.

Antares-Bud is known for large budget contracts and scandals around the failure to meet deadlines and quality of work, while Jurimex has only become active in public procurement since 2024, having received more than 11 million orders during this time.

The shelters were designed by Mykolaiv-based Astra Nord-West LLC, which was founded during the war. For the Shevchenkivska village council, this company was the only designer selected without the use of an electronic system.

In August, a possible overpayment for construction materials was discovered during a UAH 47 million shelter project in Mykolaiv region. The tender was held by the Department of Education, Culture, Youth and Sports of the Stepiv Village Council, and the contractor was Nikopolska-STK, which could have set inflated prices.

The potential overpayment is at least 1.5 million. This contractor has previously been involved in criminal proceedings for alleged embezzlement during the renovation of school No. 26 in Kherson in 2018-2020, but the case files disappeared after the de-occupation.

Анна Бальчінос