In Ukraine, the system of investment agreements continues to develop, which becomes an instrument for developers trying to bring elite residential complexes to the market, using state and communal lands intended for scientific objects and infrastructure. According to recent journalistic investigations, these agreements often lead to the fact that on the site of the planned scientific centers and botanical gardens there are multi -storey buildings, which are generated by millions of profits to developers, and the state receives only a small share of these lands.
The main mechanism of this scheme is to conclude investment agreements between government agencies and private developers. These treaties are often concluded without open competitions and provide for reconstruction of scientific objects or the development of infrastructure. However, the reality is significantly different: residential complexes appear on these lands instead of laboratories and research centers. For example, at the site of the hydrological station, where the groundwater has been studied for 70 years, there is now a residential complex "Crystal sources". This is only one of the many examples.
On the site of botanical gardens and other environmental areas that should serve science, developers receive lands where luxurious elite complexes are being built, which are sold for tens of millions of hryvnias. In this case, the state receives only a small proportion of the area - 3-6%, while developers receive huge profits.
The problem is not only the agreements themselves, but also in the absence of proper control and transparency. The conclusion of contracts without a competition makes it possible for developers to use loopholes for profitable but often illegal schemes. Instead, the publicity of such contracts and regular monitoring of their implementation would be important fuses in combating corruption.
An example with the Mykola Grishko National Botanical Garden clearly demonstrates how even legislative prohibitions can be ignored by developers. The land in Pechersk, despite all the prohibitions, became the object of investment transactions, and the residential complex in the garden became only another example of how the violations can be known after the completion of construction.
One of the possible solutions to this problem is to ensure the transparency of public land use agreements. All investment contracts should be available to the public, and agreements should only be concluded through open competitions. Regular audits that can detect early stages are also important.
Otherwise, Ukraine may face a situation where another scientific or nature conservation area will disappear, instead of which another elite LCD will appear. Therefore, it is important not only to identify these violations, but also to create conditions for more effective control over public lands, to avoid further exploitation of these resources to make private profits.
