The restoration service concluded contracts for the construction of a new water main for Mykolaiv for more than ₴5 billion

There is no water supply in Ternovш Pody, photo: NikVesti

The Service for Reconstruction and Development of Infrastructure in the Mykolaiv region without a tender chose the companies that will build a new water intake and water main for the launch of fresh water to Mykolaiv.

Currently, contracts have been concluded for two out of three construction sites, write NikVesti with reference to data from the ProZorro public procurement system.

It is about the construction of a water intake from the Southern Bug River in Nova Odesa and a main water pipeline for Mykolaiv. These are works on the II construction site for 2.5 billion hryvnias and the III construction site for 2.6 billion hryvnias. However, as of November 5, there is no tender for work on the 1st construction site in the public procurement system.

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These works will be performed by two contracting companies — Ukrtransmist and Rostdorstroy, with which the Infrastructure Restoration and Development Service signed two contracts on November 4. This decision was explained by the fact that the Service received the engineering report, which contains information on the cost of construction of the water pipeline, the scope of work and the task project, only on October 17, 2024, and these works must be completed by December 31, 2024.

«In order to implement the experimental project within the deadlines set by the state, it is impossible to meet the deadlines for procurement through open tenders,» explained the Regional Reconstruction Service.

According to the data of the public procurement system, contracting companies must complete the work by December 25, 2024.

Ukrtransmist

The Kyiv company Ukrtransmist began to receive road contracts in the Mykolaiv region only after the beginning of the large-scale invasion of the Russian Federation, writes Nikcenter. It is this company, the publication writes, that received classified contracts with a total value of more than 2 billion for the creation of two shelters for the energy infrastructure.

This year, the Infrastructure Restoration Service in the Mykolaiv region has already signed three contracts with the company Ukrtransmist for the capital repair of the same facility. We are talking about the repair of the bridge near Snihurivka, the total cost of which has already amounted to almost 400 million hryvnias.

Rostdorstroy

In May 2023, the Rostdorstroy company began repairing the road along the Ingul bridge in Mykolaiv even before signing the contract for the performance of these works.

In general, the company Rostdorstroy was one of two that was criticized by the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy during his visit to the Mykolaiv region back in 2019. Then the acting head of the Highway Service of the Mykolaiv region complained to Volodymyr Zelenskyy about two companies that constantly fail tenders, namely Poltavabudcenter and Rostdorstroy.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in turn, instructed his subordinates to do everything possible so that these companies no longer participate in tenders and are not allowed to repair roads.

«You can call these two companies and tell them that we no longer see them as participants in open and honest bidding. These people do not want to work according to the rules,» said Volodymyr Zelenskyi.

However, after that, the companies continued to participate in «road» tenders and win them.

And in December 2020, the current head of the Highway Service in the Mykolaiv region, Vladyslav Neveselyi, said that he wants, but is unable, to prevent scandalous monopolistic firms from entering tenders, which make poor-quality repairs, and in the event of losing bids, behave like «tender trolls», delaying the process of signing the contract in courts and other instances.

Waterworks for Mykolaiv

Pipes damaged by salt water stored at Mykolaivvodokanal enterprise, August 2024, photo NikVesti

In May, Mayor Sienkevych expressed hope that the dismissal of Oleksandr Kubrakov from the position of Minister of Community Development, Territories and Infrastructure will not affect the plans to build a new water main for the city.

Mustafa Naiiem was also dismissed in June. However, Naiiem himself later responded to the Ministry of Finance's accusation that the Agency had not provided the project with a water pipeline in the Mykolaiv region, noting that at the time of his dismissal, the terms of reference for the procurement procedure were already being prepared.

During the briefing on July 11, answering the question NikVesti, Vitalii Kim said that Mykolaiv has not yet received funds from the government for the construction of a new water supply, because the amount has changed there. He planned to present the updated estimate of the project for consideration by the government.

Earlier, the head of Mykolaiv RMA Vitalii Kim told journalists that thanks to the optimization of the estimate, about 3 billion hryvnias are needed for the construction of the water pipeline. Although earlier it was about the amount from 4 to 8 billion hryvnias.

It is worth noting that in two years the government did not allocate funds for the construction of a new water pipeline to provide Mykolaiv with quality water. As evidenced by the amendments to Cabinet Resolution №566, approved on April 29, 2024, they write NikVesti. At the same time, in 2023, the government allocated 8.2 billion hryvnias for the construction of new water mains in the Dnipropetrovsk region, and 5.1 billion hryvnias this year.

During the conference in Berlin, the first vice-speaker of the Verkhovna Rada Oleksandr Kornienko, answering the question NikVesti, stated that the lack of drinking water in Mykolaiv is one of the biggest problems in Ukraine, which the state must solve in the near future.

The head of the Servant of the People parliamentary faction, David Arakhamiia, believes that the funds for the construction of a new water pipeline for Mykolaiv should be allocated from the reserve fund of the state budget.

On July 23, 2024, Mykolaiv City Mayor Oleksandr Sienkevych met with the leadership of the Service for Reconstruction and Development of Infrastructure in the Mykolaiv Region to discuss the process of building a water main for the supply of drinking water.

Later, it became known that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy ordered the construction of a new water main to provide Mykolaiv with drinking water «on the fast track» — drinking water should be available by the summer of 2025. The government has already approved the corresponding program.