Collusion Uncovered in Pivdenoukrainsk Street Repair Bidding: Over ₴ 15M Spent

In Pivdenoukrainsk, a collusive bidding process for the repair of a city street was uncovered. It turned out that they had been trying to repair this street for three years in a row.

The Center for Public Investigations decided to find out how many tenders were held for this repair, which companies were the contractors, and how much money was spent in different years.

According to the press service of the Antimonopoly Committee, a case of possible collusion during a tender in Mykolaiv region has been launched. The case concerns the procurement of services for the overhaul of a street in Pivdenoukrainsk.

According to the Prozorro system, in June 2023, the Construction and Repair Department of the Pivdenoukrainsk City Council announced a tender for the overhaul of Druzhby Narodiv Street. The cost of the work was estimated at UAH 3.3 million, and the repairs were scheduled to be completed by December of the same year.

Two companies took part in the bidding process: private enterprise Demsey and Spectrum Skil. The latter's offer was only UAH 9,000 cheaper, which attracted the attention of the Antimonopoly Committee, which suspected collusion between the two companies. Based on the findings, the Committee initiated a formal investigation.

As it turned out, this was not the first attempt to repair this street. In 2020, according to the Prozorro platform, a tender was held for the overhaul of Druzhby Narodiv Street in Yuzhnoukrainsk, Mykolaiv region (adjustment) for more than UAH 13 million. At that time, Eurodor Company LLC was determined as the winner.

From December 2020 to October 2021, the Department amended the contract with the company several times for additional work. In March 2022, another tender was held for adjustments for more than 600 thousand, which was awarded to the same company. The agreement was terminated because the contractor did not start the work. Under the previous agreement, the contractor was paid UAH 6.2 million. Due to the liquidation of the Department of Municipal Infrastructure, the parties agreed to terminate the contract.

In August 2022, the Construction and Repair Department of the Yuzhnoukrainsk City Council ordered major repairs to Druzhby Narodiv Street worth more than UAH 7 million. The contract was then awarded to Dorbut 777 LLC, which has been repeatedly involved in criminal cases and journalistic investigations.

According to Prozorro, in December of the same year, the same company was entrusted with the repair of the same street for more than UAH 3 million, marked "adjustment." The company was paid more than UAH 8.4 million under the contracts.

In July 2024, the Antimonopoly Committee also revealed collusion during the bidding for the overhaul of Druzhby Narodiv Street, conducted by the City Council's Construction and Repair Department. The collusion between Demsei PE and Avtodorbud 2020 LLC could have been organized in 2023 and 2024.

In total, it is estimated that more than UAH 15 million was spent from the city budget to repair this street.

In 2024, funding for road repairs in Mykolaiv dropped to UAH 240 million, which is half as much as in the previous year. Road companies received contracts worth UAH 57 million. The analysis showed that each customer has its own "favorite" contractors who are paid significant sums. Mykolaiv businesses are also actively earning money from road repairs and tile laying, where contracts often have political connections.

Анна Бальчінос