The cost of a shelter for a school in Kherson rose by 10 million due to inflated prices

A technical inspection of the construction of a radiation shelter at a school in Kherson led to criminal charges against an engineer. An expert review found that the cost of the work had been inflated by more than 10.3 million hryvnias in four invoices.

The Center for Public Investigations examined the details of the case.

In December 2024, the Capital Construction Department of the Kherson City Council entered into a contract with Tensens LLC for the new construction of a radiation shelter on the grounds of School No. 55 in Kherson. On the same day, a separate agreement for technical supervision was signed with an engineer who was tasked with monitoring the quality and scope of the work, ensuring that materials and construction complied with the project documentation, and signing the certificates of completion.

According to the investigation, from February through October 2025, the engineer failed to properly perform his duties and signed certificates that overstated the volume of work and materials.

The largest overstatement was found in Certificate No. 1 dated February 26—nearly 5.9 million hryvnias. Specifically, this concerned the quantity of bitumen-rubber mastic, the thickness of the foundation slab, the concrete strength class, and the volume of rebar.

In Report No. 2 dated April 2, the overstatement exceeded 1.34 million hryvnias; in Report No. 3 dated April 23, it was 903,000; and in Report No. 6 dated October 16, it exceeded 2.17 million hryvnias. Among other things, the experts found discrepancies in the concrete strength class and overstatements in the quantities of rebar and metal mesh.

According to the experts’ findings, the total amount of overbilling amounted to 10.3 million hryvnias. 

As reported by Intent, the engineer registered as a sole proprietor in Lviv in November 2023 and specializes in technical supervision of construction work. The technical supervision contract was awarded without a competitive bidding process; its value was 856,000 hryvnias.

Анна Літман