Kamianske City Council ordered reconstruction of lyceum for UAH 130 million with an overpayment of UAH 18 million, which would be enough for 130 "Mavics" - media

On 26 September this year, the Department of Housing and Construction of the Kamianske City Council (Dnipropetrovsk region) ordered "Zaporizhzhia Heat and Power Project" LLC to reconstruct the school for UAH 130 million following a tender. The possible overpayment may reach UAH 18 million.

This is reported in the "Prozorro" system, Censor.NET informs with reference to "Nashi Hroshi".

As noted, the two-storey building of the Scientific Lyceum named after Anatolii Lyhun at 1 Teatralna Square, built in 1916, is to be reconstructed by the end of 2025. In fact, all the work will be carried out by a subcontractor, "Olympia Stroy" LLC, using equipment that is all leased from "Spets Prom Detal" LLC or engaged by the "Eluash" utility company of the Zaporizhzhia City Council.

The reconstruction project was ordered without bidding from a dubious company

It is also reported that the reconstruction project was ordered on 22 June 2023 without bidding from "Dogoda-Invest" LLC, and just four days later, on 26 June 2023, "Euroexpertise" LLC issued a positive expert report. Earlier, this company itself was featured in the "Nashi Hroshi" investigation into companies that formally conduct expert reviews of estimates in a timeframe too short for a quality review.

The works are being financed by a loan from the European Investment Bank under the "Ukraine Recovery Programme", and VAT will be covered by the local budget. According to the plan, in 2024 the works are to be completed for UAH 46 million, and in 2015 - for UAH 84 million. The contract price is dynamic, meaning that payment may be made at prices that differ from those specified in the estimate.

Price difference

In the final list of resources, the largest amount of UAH 6.73 million is spent on EPDM rubber granulate 1-4 mm at UAH 450/kg (hereinafter prices and amounts are inclusive of VAT). Recently, the same department ordered another company to build a shelter for gymnasium No. 12 with granulate at UAH 105/kg, which is four times cheaper. In the May price list of "Ukrplit", Polish EPDM 1-3.5 mm chips were listed at a price of €2.50. Now it is equal to 115 UAH/kg, which is almost four times cheaper," the publication notes.

It is also noted that another UAH 3.05 million was allocated for porous coarse-grained asphalt concrete type B of grade 2 at UAH 8,820 per tonne. At the above-mentioned tender for the shelter, it cost UAH 4,194/t, which is twice as cheap. The August monitoring of SE "NIRI" does not include porous asphalt concrete, but the current tender price exceeds the prices of absolutely all types, including crushed stone-mastic mixture, which was recorded at a maximum of UAH 7,820/t in Dnipropetrovsk oblast.

Plasterboard sheets for 12.5 mm thick walls worth UAH 1.79 million were priced at UAH 314 per square metre. In the Dnipro "Epicentr", Knauf moisture-resistant drywall is sold at UAH 625 per sheet of 3000×1200×12.5 mm, or UAH 174 per square metre, which is 45% cheaper.

Overpayment

The total probable overpayment in this project could be around UAH 18 million, of which UAH 5 million is for rubber granules alone. This amount would be enough to buy 130 Mavic 3T night drones, which the "Defence Procurement Agency" orders for UAH 140,000 each, or three long-range drones for attacks on Russian airfields and oil refineries, which cost an average of UAH 5 million.

The estimate was based on an average worker's salary of UAH 20,501. According to the Pension Fund, the average salary for calculating pensions is lower at UAH 18,807, while the average salary for construction vacancies on the "Work.ua" portal in Dnipro is slightly higher at UAH 22,500.

The European Investment Bank was established by the European Union. It provided a €300 million loan for the "Energy Efficiency in Public Buildings in Ukraine" programme, €200 million of which was redirected to provide emergency support to Ukraine in 2022.

The Department of Housing, Utilities and Construction is headed by Vadym Zasiadvovk, and Anna Kirsik is the procurement officer. Andrii Bilousov has been the chairman of Kamianske City Council since 2015.

The general contractor "Zaporizhzhia Heat and Power Project" is currently owned by Yevhen Leontiev and Hennadii Bilous, who ran for the Zaporizhzhia regional council from the Opposition Bloc in 2015. In the summer, "NGL.media" wrote about the company's overpricing in another tender for the same lyceum.

The Zaporizhzhia-based subcontractor "Olympia Stroy" is owned and managed by Oleh Sokolenko. Previously, it was owned by Yulia Ganzia and Yulia Oprieva. The company is related to the current sole competitor.

The only competitor in the Kamianske tender was Roman Zharikov's Zaporizhzhia-based "Eurobudkomplekt" LLC, whose director is Oleksandr Silvestrov. Previously, the company was founded by Oleksandr Opriev and Yurii Dolenko, former deputy head of the Engineering Infrastructure and Construction Development Office of the Department of Housing and Construction of the Zaporizhzhia Regional State Administration.

Author: Olena Gulayeva