₴31 million has been spent on the repair of the Varvarivskyi Bridge this year, but it is not known when it will be fully completed

The Varvarivskyi Bridge in Mykolaiv, archive photo NikVesti

In 2026, 34.5 million hryvnias were earmarked for the repair of the Varvarivskyi Bridge in Mykolaiv, of which around 90 per cent — 31.1 million hryvnias — has already been paid for the work carried out.

This was reported by the Mykolaiv region Infrastructure Restoration and Development Service in response to an information request from NikVesti.

However, the Restoration Service is currently unable to specify either the total cost of the bridge repairs or the completion date. They clarified that the work currently being carried out on the bridge is not a major overhaul, but rather routine maintenance. These are measures required to keep the structure in good condition and ensure safe traffic flow.

It is not yet known when full-scale repairs to the bridge will begin or how much they will cost. To determine this, a technical survey of the structure must first be carried out, a repair project prepared and its cost calculated, the Restoration Service added.

«At present, it is impossible to determine the total funding required for the bridge’s repair or the specific timeframe for its completion,» they noted.

The Restoration Service also added that when the Varvarivskyi and Inhulskyi bridges were transferred to its management in December 2023, there was no project documentation for their major repairs.

Therefore, specialists are now gradually inspecting individual elements of the Varvarivskyi Bridge and determining which works need to be carried out first. The inspections are being carried out whilst taking the safety situation into account.

«In this regard, the Service is carrying out a component-by-component inspection of the bridge, taking safety conditions into account, and organising work on its operational maintenance,» they explained.

Response from the Infrastructure Restoration and Development Service in the Mykolaiv region to an information request from «NikVesti»

How much has already been spent on repairing the Varvarivskyi Bridge

Information on the bridge repairs is partially available via the public procurement system and the budget expenditure portal.

Repairs to the Varvarivskyi Bridge began in 2024. Since then, the Restoration Service has announced several procurement procedures related to the works.

In 2024, a contract worth 57.2 million hryvnias was signed. According to data from the Spending portal, over 33.4 million hryvnias have been paid to the contractor under this contract. However, during a joint briefing last year between Vitalii Kim, head of the Mykolaiv region military administration, and Oleksandr Antoshchuk, head of the Regional Infrastructure Restoration and Development Service, a figure 10 million hryvnias higher — 44 million hryvnias — was cited.

Screenshot from the Prozorro e-procurement website

In 2025, the Restoration Service carried out two further procurements — worth 19.7 million and 54.4 million hryvnias. According to Spending, the contractor received 14.6 million and 35.2 million hryvnias respectively under these contracts.

Screenshot from the Prozorro e-procurement website

In 2026, another tender for 88.5 million гривень was published on the Prozorro platform. At the time of writing, payments under this contract are not shown in the Spending system.

Screenshot from the Prozorro e-procurement website

Thus, for these four contracts alone, the total cost of the works exceeds 219 million hryvnias. At the same time, the Restoration Service has not provided the editorial team with information on the actual total cost of the bridge repairs, the scope of work already completed, or the planned funding for the project in 2026.

The Varvarivskyi Bridge in Mykolaiv belongs to the state

It should be recalled that, during its meeting on 13 October, the Government approved a decision to transfer the Inhulskyi and Pivdennobuzkyi (Varvarivskyi) bridges in Mykolaiv to state ownership. Following this, Ukraine’s Deputy Minister of Infrastructure, Mustafa Naiiem, outlined the current stage of the project for the Mykolaiv bypass and the plans for the repair of the Varvarivskyi and Inhulskyi bridges.

As is well known, the Varvarivsky Bridge in Mykolaiv forms part of the M-14 «Odesa — Melitopol — Novoazovsk» international route and is currently in a state of disrepair. In February 2020, the process of transferring the bridge from the city’s municipal ownership to the balance sheet of «Ukravtodor» began, but to date it has not yet been completed. This is because, in order for the Varvarivskyi Bridge to be transferred to state ownership, the Ministry of Finance is asking Mykolaiv to provide an estimate of the cost of reconstructing the structure. To do this, the city must carry out an expert assessment and commission design and cost estimate documentation for the bridge’s repair, the total cost of which amounts to around 20 million hryvnias. The Mayor of Mykolaiv, Oleksandr Sienkevych, has stated that there are no funds allocated for this in the city’s budget.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is also aware of the need to repair the Varvarivskyi Bridge. In July 2019, the head of state stated that resolving the issue of the Varvarivskyi Bridge was a top priority for the governor. Four months later, during a briefing in Ochakiv, Volodymyr Zelenskyy raised this issue once again. On that occasion, he compelled the then Governor of Mykolaiv region, Oleksandr Stadnyk, to promise to repair the Varvarivskyi Bridge by the end of 2020.

Tetiana Dombrovska, a member of the Mykolaiv City Council, also took up the issue of the transfer of the Varvarivskyi Bridge. In July 2021, she organised a meeting attended by the Minister of Infrastructure, Oleksandr Kubrakov, representatives of the Ministry of Finance, Ukravtodor and the city council, to sort out the issue of the bridge’s transfer. However, this too proved fruitless, as two months later the issue remained unresolved. Meanwhile, Ukravtodor stated that the allocation of funds for the repair of the Varvarivskyi Bridge would only be considered once it had been transferred to state ownership.

Meanwhile, there have been several incidents of structural failure on the bridge recently. The first occurred on 6 December, the second on 20 December. At the time, «ELU Avtodorig» reported that an emergency situation had arisen involving the structure of a section of the Varvarivskyi Bridge. A third traffic gridlock occurred due to a failure in a section of the Varvarivskyi Bridge on 2 February. On 5 April, a fourth emergency failure occurred on the Varvarivskyi Bridge. It transpired that a metal plate had come loose on the bridge.

It had also been reported earlier that, once repair work on the Varvarivskyi Bridge was complete, two-way traffic would be reintroduced on the bridge.